Peter Carlisle admits rail is fiscally irresponsible

Panos Prevedouros for Mayor

For immediate release
August 17, 2010

Contact: Peter Kay Campaign Chair & Spokesman, peter@panosforprogress.com , 312-436-1941 / Learn more at www.FixOahu.Com

Peter Carlisle admits rail is fiscally irresponsible See it on video.

Honolulu, Hawaii- August 17th, 2010

At a debate last night (Hawaii Public Radio) Panos Prevedouros explained to former prosecuting attorney Peter Carlisle:

"The rail EIS estimates that rail will remove about 40,000 car trips (not cars) per day. On average, each car makes about 6 trips per day. Therefore, by the city's own estimates, the rail project will remove fewer than 7,000 cars from the streets. At a cost of nearly $6 billion, this means that rail will cost nearly $1 million per car removed from the road."

Prevedouros asked Carlisle, "How fiscally responsible is that?".

Mr. Carlisle's response: "It's not."

Only a politician can say that he values fiscal responsibility on one hand yet turn right around at the same debate forum and admit the rail project he strongly supports is not fiscally responsible. Watch the YouTube of this exchange.

-According to the city, each train can carry 300 people, and during the peak times, there is expected to be one train every 3 minutes, for a total of 6,000 people per hour on the peak direction. It is important to note that 4,000 of these 6,000 passengers will be standees.

Managed freeway lanes, such as HOT lanes, are designed to carry 2000 vehicles per hour per lane at free flow speeds, and since they carry express busses and high occupancy vehicles, the average occupancy would be well over 3 people per vehicle, for a total of 6,000 people per hour per lane. (All of them seated.)

Rail has the capacity of about one HOT lane. If Honolulu builds three reversible managed lanes the capacity advantage of the managed lanes is obvious.

More at the FixOahu Blog