If traffic moves so slowly, then why do they call it ‘rush hour?’ That’s a good question. Speaking of traffic, the 60 to 90-minute ‘rush hour’ trek from Kapolei to downtown Honolulu could be cut in half with the city’s planned ‘fixed guideway’ system.
The 20-mile route will stop about every two minutes, a total of 19 times between Kapolei and Ala Moana Center. Each stop will be 20-seconds, as passengers get on and off the system.
Those are the latest details of the city’s proposed $3.7-billion fixed rail system. The rail cars will run, on average, 30 to 50 miles per hour, and carry a maximum of 9,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
Groundbreaking on the system is scheduled to occur in 2009 with some segments operational by 2012.
Meanwhile, the city repaired my two favorite Beretania Street potholes, their demise coming 45 days after receiving notification of their existence.
The one & only time I visited Hawaii – in 1993 – I was surprised by the enormous amount of traffic there. Now, with just 9 days to go before I arrive again, it’ll be interesting to see if things are the same or have gotten worse. Thankfully I’ll be staying in Waikiki and won’t need a car most of the time!