Former Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano is running in the November election for Mayor of Honolulu. A strong opponent of the city’s $5.26 billion rail project, Cayetano has unveiled his own solution to Hawaii’s traffic problem, a $1.5 billion plan called Flexible Affordable Smart Transportation or FAST. The FAST project has several components including having additional express bus routes between Central and West Oahu and downtown Honolulu and building an express lane for buses along the Moanalua Freeway. Perhaps most importantly, Cayetano notes that the long term maintenance cost will be significantly lower over time. According to Cayetano’s staff, the FAST project would be eligible for federal funding, which would reduce the cost to the city.
However, Kirk Caldwell, who is also running for mayor and who is a strong supporter of the rail project was not impressed with Cayetano’s FAST plan. Caldwell stated, “What Cayetano offers is absurd and will not fix Oahu’s growing traffic problems. His plan to add Bus Rapid Transit bus lanes will take away from the crucial lanes we currently have, and drivers will have to squeeze into other lanes, which will only exasperate and worsen congestion.”. Caldwell also predicted that the final cost of Cayetano’s FAST plan would cost between $2.5 to $3 billion when it is finally completed.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 10-4-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
