gmat Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Rail work kicks off in Waipahu http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110425_Rail_work_kicks_off_in_Waipahu.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Editorial about he need for transparency in the process: Keep public in loop on rail costs http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110509__Keep_public_in_loop_on_rail_costs.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
disturbman Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Thanks for the updates, it's interesting to see what's going on there. I hope the plan won't be shelved. Link to comment
gmat Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Thank you, disturbman, Glad to see people find it useful. Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
railroadtrac2 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 As an aside, the contractor has yet to fix the links so our assessment may yet be proved correct! Link to comment
gmat Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Some updates: Council puts rein on rail spending http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110512_Council_puts_rein_on_rail_spending.html Group seeks injunction against rail project http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/121729089.html Best wishes, Grant And this editorial. Some interesting arguments against: Rail lawsuit filed, financial plan updated http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14638278/rail-lawsuit-filed-financial-plan-updatedq Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 More news from the StarAdvertiser: Council member wants 'Plan B' in case rail funding is short http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110513_council_member_wants_plan_b_in_case_rail_funding_is_short.html Rail transit rolls forward with stops for questions http://www.staradvertiser.com/columnists/20110513_Rail_transit_rolls_forward_with_stops_for_questions.html Several articles from HonoluluRailTransit: Construction work updates: http://www.honolulutransit.org/traffic_updates/ From the NewsRoom, including the guest editorial below: http://www.honolulutransit.org/news_room/ Guest Editorial: SpeakOut Rail is a Game Changer for the Construction Industry By Kirk Caldwell, Managing Director, City and County of Honolulu http://www.buildingindustryhawaii.com/0909/BI0909_70.pdf For perspectives from the other side, HonoluluTransit.com, a Stop the Rail Group: http://www.honolulutraffic.com/ Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action, so the local federal judges had written a letter saying it posed a security risk. Also Ansaldo comes under further scrutiny: Judges withdraw from hearing rail suit http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110514_Judges_withdraw_from_hearing_rail_suit.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
Mudkip Orange Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in. I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor. Link to comment
gmat Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 The city's transit line has potential for triggering a rise in affordable units http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20110515_Rail_has_role_in_housing.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 The close proximity of the rail line to the Federal Court Building makes the latter vulnerable to terrorist action That is poop. The OKC bombing was the result of a single Ryder truck; the District Court in Honolulu has public streets on three sides, and the parking lots around the building have no barriers so anything capable of making it over a 6" curb and some grass can get in. I fail to see how an elevated rail line out in the middle of Ala Moana adds any kind of risk factor. Precisely. The anti-rail people will use anything and anyone to block the building of new lines, including nonsensical concerns such as this. You can see the same BS static coming from naysayers and nimbys in the CA HSR project, and it will continue. I'm sure people will oppose a rail line because it causes "stress" to their pet chihuahua... Link to comment
Mudkip Orange Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 I do like how the pro-rail guys have an "un-sign the anti-rail petition" petition. http://www.gorailgo.org/files/GoRailGo-RemoveNamefromAntiRailPetition.pdf Definitely taking it up a notch. I was in Seattle for the entire planning phase of SoundTransit and I was in Houston long enough to see the "Metro Solutions" LRT expansion get downgraded to BRT and then re-upped again, and I never saw an "I was blind but now I see" counter-petition. It's funny to visit the Honolulu rail opposition's website and read the same arguments: "19th century technology," "25mph average speed vs. 60 for highways," the same stuff the Cox/O'Toole/Poole crowd was saying 15 years ago. At this point I think the anti-rail consultants just have a bunch of Word 97 documents that they pull up, change a few words, and crap back out again. Link to comment
gmat Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Funny comments. Thanks. Best wishes. Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Concern grows over rail's cost Most residents surveyed want to see the project completed, but they are put off by the system's rising price tag http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110516__Concern_grows_over_rails_cost.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Most residents surveyed want to see the project completed, but they are put off by the system's rising price tag Apparently, the cost of public works projects in the U.S., especially things like rail lines, is the highest in the world (yes, more expensive than Japan). Something about the bidding process and the way contractors work. Link to comment
Mudkip Orange Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I have long thought that if I were a mayor or transportation director looking at building an elevated rail line, I'd contract the bridge/viaduct portion out as a road or "busway" and then only layer submit a separate contract for adding rails on top of it. I honestly think it would be cheaper, when you look at the inflationary nature of rail costs. Structurally there should be no problem, being as how we've successfully retrofitted light rail onto all manner of existing bridges (the Main Street Bridge and bayou bridges in Houston, the Steel Bridge in Portland, etc) Link to comment
gmat Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Mayor would veto proposal by City Council to have final say over any spending decisions made by the transit board. I guess over worries about cost spiraling out of control. Battle brews over control of rail transit authority's budget http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110518_battle_brews_over_control_of_rail_transit_authoritys_budget.html Editorial: Don't rob TheBus to pay for rail http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110518__Don_t_rob_TheBus_to_pay_for_rail.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 City's rail funding risk 'under control,' FTA says http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110520_citys_rail_funding_risk_under_control_fta_says.html Best wshes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 From the StarAdvertiser: City's poll finds majority favors rail http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110602__Citys_poll_finds_majority_favors_rail.html Same news from Yes2rail: http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html From the opposition, no response yet to the City's poll: http://www.honolulutraffic.com/ Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 Not much rail news, but some news of political in-fighting between the Mayor and the City Council about who gets final say for the rail budget: Transit board budget drives strain The mayor has said he will sue over the spending plan OK'd by the City Council http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110621_Transit_board_budget_drives_strain.html Carlisle vetoes rail transit budgets, recycling subsidy http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124327424.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 More on the spending fight: Lawsuits loom as vetoes set showdown on rail spending http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110622_Lawsuits_loom_as_vetoes_set_showdown_on_rail_spending.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 The news for the net year or so will probably be dominated by political infighting. Small article. A city councilman says U.S. officials remain committed to rail funding http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124404129.html Followed by a longer editorial. Don't dilute HART's authority http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110623__Dont_dilute_HARTs_authority.html Besides the short spur from from Ewa to Waianae used by the Hawaii Railway Society, the only other rail transportation used today on Oahu is the old monorail at Pearl Ridge Shopping Center. It connects the upper mall with the lower mall. When the Center was first built, it was planned to have it run further about a mile east to the much smaller Waimalu Shopping Mall. There was never enough potential traffic to justify the cost, though. Too bad. I am old enough to remember when the OR&LR still had the operation at the harbor and ran pineapples to the Libby McNeil and Libby Cannery. It was just crossing the old Nimitz Highway and in fact hardly ran for more than a mile, but that was quite a thrill for a young kid. When I worked at the cannery in the summer, I can still remember the train pulling up. Wish that I had taken some photos, though. Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Some recent news: City rejects protests over rail contract, sticks with Ansaldo http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124525059.html Honolulu rail project to get $55M in federal funds this year http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/124524823.html Council in gear to reject rail-bill vetoes http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110624_Council_in_gear_to_reject_railbill_vetoes.html U.S. infrastructure's decay is alarming http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/factsofthematter/20110617_US_infrastructures_decay_is_alarming.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Another OpEd. The whole point of HART is to have it be independent of politics http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110626_The_whole_point_of_HART_is_to_have_it_be_independent_of_politics.html Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
gmat Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 More on the political tug of war. Mayor to let HART take lead Carlisle will defer to the new rail agency on possible lawsuits against the Council http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Mayor_to_let_HART_take_lead.html Kalihi is a middle to lower middle income area East and Northeast of the airport. Kalihi has say on rail development http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110628_Kalihi_has_say_on_rail_development.html Googled Honolulu Rail News and found the following: From Channel 2 News http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/55M-for-Honolulu-rail-in-current-fiscal-year/bBx2m9LeIEGP8hxrdUz1jA.cspx?rss=1803 $55M for Honolulu rail in current fiscal year From MauiNews: Honolulu council overrides vetoes on rail line http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/550895/Honolulu-council-overrides-vetoes-on-rail-line.html?nav=8 From HawaiiNewsNow: City looking to alter stream channels for Honolulu rail line http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/14986235/city-looking-to Small bit from Progressive Railroading: FTA awards $55 million in New Starts funds for Honolulu light-rail project http://www.progressiverailroading.com/federal_legislation_regulation/news/FTA-awards-55-million-in-New-Starts-funds-for-Honolulu-lightrail-project--27079 Say Yes to the Honolulu Rail System site. Some interesting articles from the pro-rail site. http://yes2rail.blogspot.com/ Hawaii Rail Facebook. Much has been posted previously from the StarAdvertiser. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honolulu-Rail-Transit/127002122537 Apparently defunct site launched by losing bidder Sumitomo Corporation of America. The latest news is dated from February. The interior of the proposed train had a stand up space for surfboards. http://honolulurailforgrowth.com/news.php Blog from local resident Ian Lind. From Feb. 24, 2010: Tracking Honolulu rail news http://ilind.net/2010/02/24/tracking-honolulu-rail-news/ Finally, from the other side. Anti-rail News: http://www.honolulutraffic.com/ Best wishes, Grant Link to comment
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