Monday, April 13, 2009
Honolulu Transit—Back to the Drawing Board
From the day the City announced its plan for an above ground fixed guide way transit system, The Outdoor Circle (TOC) has been under pressure from its members and the community to take a position on the project. But our Board of Directors insisted that we participate in the process so that we could form an opinion based on facts and not just a knee-jerk reaction.
In the ensuing three-plus years we have participated in scoping efforts, public presentations, meetings with consultants, briefings from project opponents, membership on the Mayor’s Transit Advisory Committee, and public hearings. We have studied the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the exhaustive technical reports where the nitty-gritty of the project is revealed.
In the end we are left with the conclusion that in its nearly 100 year history, The Outdoor Circle has seen no other proposal that holds the potential to degrade the landscape of O‘ahu and change the character of our communities as greatly as the Honolulu transit project. We believe it is destined to become the most visually disruptive project in the history of Hawai‘i. While its ability to ease traffic problems on O‘ahu is debatable, its negative impact on the visual environment of this island cannot be denied.
To our disappointment the DEIS fails to adequately describe the cumulative impacts of the project or how those impacts will be mitigated with respect to view planes, street trees, landscaping, utility lines and overall intrusiveness in our communities.
The document states that from the Ewa Plain through Pearl City and the airport region the fixed guide way and multiple above ground stations will intrude upon the undeveloped character of open space, block views of parks and historic sites and become the dominant feature in the view planes of every community. Once it reaches Chinatown it will disrupt the character of the pedestrian oriented environment.
In the central business district, the fixed guide way and the proposed Downtown Station will block makai views, become the dominant features on Nimitz Highway and spoil the pedestrian character of the streetscape. From downtown to Ala Moana Center the project will intrude upon homes and offices and block protected mauka-makai views of the Ko‘olau and Waianae Mountains; the ocean and Honolulu Harbor and Diamond Head, Punchbowl and Aliamanu craters.
Of equal concern is the fate of more than 800 street trees. Perhaps 500 trees will be transplanted to unspecified areas leaving a possible deficit of more than 300 trees. The DEIS states that to mitigate the damage a contractor “would” prepare new planting plans and that additional trees “could” be planted. We believe the public needs an accurate accounting of what will happen to these trees.
Of great distress is the proposal to eliminate “notable” trees—19 Kamani Trees on Dillingham Boulevard and 23 Monkey pod Trees on Kapiolani Boulevard near University Avenue. There are no plans included to protect trees adjacent to the construction. This could result in predictable damage and the potential loss of hundreds of additional trees.
The DEIS does not explain how the city will mitigate the harsh presence of hundreds of support columns and more than two dozen transit stations. The DEIS also is silent regarding commercial signage in, around or on any part of the project—including all transit oriented development. Such signage might violate existing state and/or county sign laws. The DEIS should forbid any exterior commercial advertising on the train, transit stations or any portion of the transit infrastructure.
This project also offers an opportunity to remove a persistent eyesore from our communities—the overbearing presence of utility poles and lines. Relocating all utility lines along the transit route and placing them underground or beneath the fixed guide way will enhance the view planes and provide mitigation for the visual damage created by the project. The combined visual burden of the fixed guide way in addition to the overhead utility lines is completely unacceptable and has not been evaluated in the document.
In conclusion, the Board of Directors of The Outdoor Circle believes the City has substantially downplayed the visual impacts the project will have on our communities and on our quality of life. Nor does it offer acceptable mitigation throughout the DEIS for the harm this project will inflict.
We believe the final EIS must acknowledge the mountain of negative impacts that will be caused by the project and present effective mitigation plans. If this is not done we believe the City should abandon the above ground fixed guide way and replace it with an alternative system that will not be as destructive and divisive as the current proposal.