HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

87

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Requesting that the city and county of honolulu entertain solicited and unsolicited proposals for mass transit.

 

 

WHEREAS, due to the geographic characteristics of the island of Oahu, the historical development of communities and centers of business and commercial activity, and the more recent planned development of West Oahu, traffic congestion between various points on Oahu has always been and continues to be a major problem; and

WHEREAS, the traffic situation in downtown Honolulu, especially during morning and evening rush hours, remains intolerable; and

WHEREAS, at the present rate of growth and development, the transportation needs of Honolulu commuters will soon exceed the capabilities of the existing highway system; and

WHEREAS, over the years, various solutions have been proposed to address peak rush hour traffic congestion, but so far no wide-scale traffic alleviation measures have been implemented; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu has been discussing and studying the feasibility of mass transit for decades without success; and

WHEREAS, in 1992, plans for Honolulu's rail transit system ended when the Honolulu City Council declined to authorize an increase in the general excise tax to fund a fixed rail system; and

WHEREAS, since then, the City and County of Honolulu has been promoting a rapid bus transit system combining trolleys and buses using a hub-and-spoke scheme; and

WHEREAS, recently, however, doubts about the rapid bus transit system and certain aspects of implementing such a system have risen the ire of numerous citizens; and

WHEREAS, since its adoption of the bus rapid transit system concept, the City and County of Honolulu has discontinued requesting proposals from proponents of other mass transit modes or accepting requests from such proponents to demonstrate their ideas; and

WHEREAS, however, the City and County of Honolulu still has the opportunity to engage in dialogue regarding alternate mass transit systems; and

WHEREAS, regardless of the mode of mass transportation that is ultimately decided upon by the City and County of Honolulu, the process of considering mass transit proposals must not be halted; and

WHEREAS, by continuing the consideration of mass transit proposals, the City and County of Honolulu can build on its own experiences and those of other cities that have built mass transit projects and keep abreast with new technologies and design principles that can help lower costs and improve ridership; and

WHEREAS, as a result of such action, when a decision is finally made on a mode of mass transit, the citizens of Honolulu will be assured that the decision was made based on the latest and best technology available, factored against what the City and County of Honolulu is willing to pay; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to either issue a request for proposals to provide the island of Oahu with a mode of mass transit other than what it currently operates or to accept any unsolicited proposal to provide mass transit for Oahu from entities wishing to present such proposals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor and the Chair of the City Council of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Mass Transit Proposals; City and County of Honolulu