RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, fixed rail provides an exclusive lane of transportation and an attractive, efficient, and rapid alternative to the private automobile; and

WHEREAS, fixed rail can be a part of a planned, sensible, and balanced transportation system; and

WHEREAS, Portland's Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in Oregon was part of a greater vision and broader strategic plan, and it has been hailed as a development tool that helped to revive a stagnant economy and create a livable community; and

WHEREAS, the densely populated county of Honolulu is faced with the ongoing, seemingly unsolvable problem of integrating a mass transit system into a congested city that has not adequately planned for its transportation needs along with its growth; and

WHEREAS, by comparison, the island of Hawaii still features wide-open spaces, with development just beginning to take off, making construction of a fixed rail system an attractive and potentially feasible endeavor; and

WHEREAS, now is the ideal time to develop plans for a light rail system for the island of Hawaii along with broader, strategic long-range planning for future growth on the island; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the state Department of Transportation is requested to review:

(1) The Hawaii Long Range Land Transportation Plan; and

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state Department of Transportation report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature at least 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, Hawaii County Mayor, and Chair of the Hawaii County Council.

Report Title:

Fixed Rail; Island of Hawaii