The Amy Asselbaye & David Ige Post-Covid Oahu Economic Promotion Plan

06/03/2021

HART's rail is an issue we may feel fortunate to have dominating our local political discourse: it originated as an idea to improve the freedom of movement of those in the City and County of Honolulu. Yet today, we all seem to agree its price has grown too high, and its construction is taking too long. Though Rail is already supposed to be complete it isn't even partially operating, and just to complete the last five miles of track is expected to cost $3.5 billion, that's more than the originally imagined cost for the entire system. Luckily we've recently learned that HART is looking to consider some alternative mode of mass transit to finish the system, connecting Rail ending somewhere near Middle Street to Ala Moana Center some four to five miles away, depending on the route. They've considered a people mover, hopefully they will also consider an urban gondola. Why? HART has $744 million in so-far-unspent federal funds to somehow connect Rail to Ala Moana. Should an urban gondola be constructed here, and should the cost overruns reach the same extreme degree that Rail's construction experiences here, then even with the longer, five-mile route to Ala Moana the total urban gondola would likely cost $610 million, meaning we have enough to finish HART, and meaning that we may begin to finish HART right now, by beginning to build an urban gondola here in Honolulu, HI, today 🚠😄🤙

05/24/2021

😄 Happy to say whoever it was that tried to tear down this page just lost, and after a Facebook review we're live again!

We have raised rail now, that's here to stay. Whether its cost overruns are due to corruption, incompetence, or both, we cannot unbuild the track. However, lacking the funds, and the time to complete the rail, the citizens of the City and County of Honolulu deserve to know there's a better solution ready to save our budget and our public transit system: by transitioning from raised rail to an urban gondola, at a multi-modal transit station inclusive of The Bus, somewhere near Middle Street, we can complete HART's originally intended route all the way to Ala Moana Center, and yes, even onto the University of Hawaii at Manoa, for the amount of Federal Funds we already have in our possession, and that are so far unspent.

This amount is more than enough, as when we say we have enough to construct an urban gondola from rail's terminus to Ala Moana Center and even the University of Hawaii at Manoa, we're saying this inclusive of the same, absurd degree of cost overruns as rail has so far experienced.

Let's do ourselves the favor of getting our multi-modal transit system up and running, far sooner than we can with rail, and with the money we already know we have 🚠🤙

05/03/2021

This could prove a great idea for Honolulu, and indeed for all of Hawaii

Airports have vast swaths of empty land and rooftops. But it’s not so easy as just covering everything with solar panels.

04/27/2021

As Mayor Blangiardi and his Office do a good job beginning the transition of our bus fleet from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles it may be worth their while reaching out to the new EV Bus and Van manufacturer Arrival. Arrival has an innovative micro-factory production process. There are over 500 ICE and hybrid busses in The Bus’s fleet in need of replacement, alone, and more on neighboring islands. In a recent Pacific Business News article Janis Magin noted how there may be several lots yet available in Campbell's new Kapolei industrial park. Such a site could be a great location for such a micro-factory. The transportation departments of each Hawaii county, & UPS HI may update their fleets from such a micro-factory.

UPS has already ordered 10,000 new trucks from Arrival and some will likely find their way to Hawaii, and Honolulu, anyway. Why not have them built here? On 4/16 in Pacific Business News Kam Napier mentioned how state senator Glenn Wakai lamented that our state’s lockdowns had not diversified our local economy. Although production is generally not economically feasible in HI, Arrival's micro-factories may prove different, and if so such innovative production could help as a part of Governor Ige’s Hawaii 2.0 initiative. Ultimately transport in Hawaii, public, commercial, & otherwise will move away from ICE vehicles. If Arrival and their micro-factory production technology may help Hawaii do that, while employing Hawaiian workers, and Hawaii resident workers, here in HI, would this not be a win for everybody?

Here is a great video by Arrival for anyone interested:

What makes Arrival different? Everything.Get an understanding of the vision behind Arrival's innovation from Founder and CEO, Denis Sverdlov, CEO of Arrival ...

04/22/2021

Here’s a great video showcasing how and why a public transit gondola 🚠 system would be great for Honolulu and all of Oahu. As a community we may want to consider this form of public transit here as we work to solve Honolulu’s rail crisis

I'm on Patreon! Consider supporting this channel: https://www.patreon.com/citybeautifulSources:A. The Gondola Project. http://gondolaproject.comB. Image via ...

04/22/2021

Just three images providing you comparisons of the physical intrusiveness of two transit systems for you to weigh and consider. Remember rail is planned to tear a path through town, all the way to Ala Moana, cutting through Kaka'ako along the way, before marching up into Manoa. Oh, and which transit system looks more expensive, you know, which looks like it requires more construction time, material, and cost, and which looks more expensive to operate, and maintain? How about carbon footprint, which one looks more efficient to build, and to operate?

04/22/2021

Hey all, here's a refresher of the whole proposal in a new, more accessible format!

A Proposal Bringing Together Public Transit, Affordable Housing, and Economic Benefits

04/20/2021

Earth Day came up quick! Here's a new article for you

Did you know there's a lower-cost, lower-carbon alternative to HART's Rail?

04/20/2021

A story in the StarAdvertiser about OHA's hope to develop residential Real Estate on their Kaka'ako property caused me to write a thing, feel free to check it out!

Introduction According to an article in the Star Advertiser by Timothy Hurley published in B1, 6, on 4/16/2021 titled, OHA Plows Ahead With Waterfront Development Plans Despite Opposition the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is planning, or at least hoping, to develop 30 acres of underutilized water...

01/03/2021

The Amy Asselbaye & David Ige Post-Covid Oahu Economic Promotion Plan

To create:

-A more robust, connected economy
-More freedom of movement for residents, less traffic congestion
-More housing, less sprawl
-Synergy between Hawaii’s public and private sectors

The Amy Asselbaye & David Ige Oahu Economic Promotion Plan will create these outcomes through creation of the:

The Rick Blangiardi Transportation System

-HART from Ewa to Middle Street serves as a South Shore public transit backbone
-Commuter Cable Car lines branch out from HART across Oahu in phases
-The Bus fills in service areas between HART and BTS stations
-Run by an incorporated entity with multiple revenue streams
-Inclusive of new pedestrian and transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhoods for all incomes

Benefits of these connected programs

-With developers covering construction costs of stations, the government need only cover the initial costs of connecting cable car lines.
-The entirety of BTS’s phase one construction costs amount to roughly half of the first new estimated cost to build out Rail to Ala Moana from Middle Street
-The complete BTS phase one will include up to 9,000 additional housing units, with a minimum of 30% affordable units, and 21+ miles of Commuter Cable Car lines as well as new, dedicated bus stops, pedestrian overpasses, and importantly turns Rail into a line that connects many somewheres rather than going nowhere, and will thus increase the economic activity on Oahu
-BTS’s phases two through five will expand these benefits