Opponents of the Honolulu Rail Project have filed an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and are hoping that the three judges who sit on the panel would stop the project in its tracks. However, during the initial oral arguments, two of the judges questioned if they even have the jurisdiction to make a final ruling in this issue. Observers noted that two of the judges seemed more concerned about the legal procedure and court process than the facts regarding the project itself.
Honolulutraffic.com filed its lawsuit in 2011 and stated that local and federal transit officials violated environmental and historic preservation laws in an effort to get the project approved quickly. The lawsuit contends that the city did not research better ways to reduce the rail project's impact on the environment and cultural and historical sites. Honolulutraffic.com argued that development of West Oahu was the main driving force behind the Rail Project and not the reduction of traffic. Opponents of the Rail Project argue that creating designated vehicle lanes for express buses, car pools and emergency vehicles would reduce reduce traffic congestion more than rail and would also be significantly less expensive.
When Judge Wallace Tashima heard the case in the end of 2012, he ordered that the rail project be halted by the city until three areas of concern were addressed. The first item required the city to conduct an archaeological survey of the entire route. The second was to conduct a feasibility study of creating a tunnel under Beretania Street. The final item was to conduct an impact study of how the Rail Project would affect the area surrounding Mother Waldron Park in Kakaako. Honolulutraffic.com announced that they would appeal the case in February 2013.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 8-16-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
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