Meeting Summary of the

Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

 

CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 3:30 p.m.
Mayor’s Conference Room
Honolulu Hale, Room 301
530 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

 

 

Members Present:                                                                        

NB #10 Makiki-Lower Punchbowl-Tantalus

Charles Carole, Chair

Committee for Balanced Transportation

Joe Magaldi, Jr., Vice Chair

AARP

Mary Protheroe

American Planning Association

John Valera

Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii

Ray Kunishige

Committee for Balanced Transportation

Frank Genadio

E Noa Corporation

Tom Dinell

Eye of the Pacific

Patricia Blum

Hawaii Bicycling League

Mitchell Nakagawa

Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996

Michael Costa

Interagency COORDINATION Councils

CC Curry

League of Women Voters

Jacqueline Parnell

Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association

David Arakawa

NB #01 Hawaii Kai

Greg Knudsen

NB #03 Waialae-Kahala

Lester Fukuda

NB #13 Downtown

Tom Smythe

NB #14 Liliha-Alewa-Puunui-Kamehameha Heights

Loy Kuo

NB #18 Aliamanu-Salt Lake-Foster Village

Lorene Godfrey

NB #23 Ewa

R. Scott Belford

NB #24 Waianae Coast

David Brown

NB #26 Wahiawa

Joseph Francher

NB #27 North Shore

Antya Miller

NB #30 Kaneohe

Wendell Lum

NB #34 Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale

Michael Golojuch

NB #35 Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley

Pamela Young

North Shore Chamber of Commerce

Gil Riviere

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

Randall Hiu

Waikiki Residents Association

Daisy Murai

 

Members Absent (Reps):

American Society of Civil Engineers

Tiffany Hamada

American Society of Landscape Architects

Chris Dacus

Charley’s Taxi

Dale Evans

Hawaii Highway Users Alliance

Darcianne Evans

Hawaii Transportation Association

Gareth Sakakida

Honolulu Community Action Program

Vai Leatiota

Institute of Transportation Engineers

Pete Pascua

Land Use Research Foundation

David Arakawa

NB #02 Kuliouou-Kalani Iki

Linda Starr

NB #05 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-Saint Louis Heights

Bert Narita

NB #08 McCully-Moiliili

Ron Lockwood

NB #09 Waikiki

Robert Finley

NB #12 Nuuanu-Punchbowl

Jay Fidell

NB #21 Pearl City

Cruz J. Vina, Jr.

NB #22 Waipahu

Thomas Maus

NB #25 Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu

David Aki

Pacific Resource Partnership

Richard Kane

Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter

Randy Ching

Waianae Coast Transportation Concerns Group

Dick Boddy

 

Guests Present:

Richard Mori

Citizen

Russel Oshiro

Citizen

Ronald W. Pike

Citizens for a Fair ADA Ride

Ben Gorospe

Department of Transportation

David Yaw

Federal Rental Assisted Tenant Agency

Cliff Slater

HonoluluTraffic.com

Louise Horio

Hui Kupuna VIP

Rose Pou

Hui Kupuna VIP

Frank Latino

Itochu International, Inc.

Kenichi Takao

Itochu International, Inc.

Janet Inamine

Moiliili resident

Shane Yaw

NB #15 Kalihi-Palama

Carl Jacobs

NB #20 Aiea

Ken LeVasseur

NB #29 Kahaluu

Lisa-Ann Kimura

Office of Council Services

Mike Becher

PB Americas, Inc.

 

OahuMPO Consultant:  Ron Mobley, PRP, Hawaii State Association of Parliamentarians

 

OahuMPO Staff Present:  Gordon Lum (Executive Director) and Marian Yasuda

 

Chair Charles Carole called the meeting to order at 3:37 p.m.  A quorum was present.

 

1.  Approval of the Meeting Minutes

  • November 21, 2007

Discussion:  Marian Yasuda explained that a statement provided by CC Curry, in response to Chair Carole’s request for corrections to the November draft minutes at the December 19, 2007 CAC meeting, was erroneously identified as a correction to the minutes.  Ms. Curry later requested that her statement regarding the federal certification review of the OahuMPO be reflected in the minutes.  Ms. Yasuda indicated that Ms. Curry’s statement is currently identified in the December 19, 2007 draft meeting minutes.

 

Vice Chair Joe Magaldi, Jr. moved and Ms. Curry seconded that the November 21, 2007 meeting minutes be approved as originally circulated.  The motion carried unanimously.

 

·        December 19, 2007

Discussion:  Ron Mobley questioned the appropriateness of having more than one representative of the same organization (Castle & Cooke) listed in the Members Present section of the minutes.  Mr. Mobley suggested that one of the representatives for Castle & Cooke be listed as present in the Guests Present section.

 

Vice Chair Joe Magaldi, Jr. moved and Michael Costa seconded that the December 19, 2007 meeting minutes be approved as corrected.  The motion carried with one abstention.

 

2.  Unfinished Business

Mr. Mobley elaborated on the proper procedures under Robert’s Rules of Order for three incidences during the December 19, 2007 meeting:

  • The withdrawal of a motion by the maker and the person who seconded the motion is not allowed if the question has been stated by the Chair.  If the Chair states the question, the motion belongs to the Committee.  A majority vote would be required for withdrawal.
  • When an item is before the body and being discussed, another motion cannot be made until the initial business is finished.
  • When an item is tabled, that means that more important business is taking precedence, and the item being tabled will be discussed later in the same meeting.  Alternatives to tabling an item are either giving that item to a subcommittee or postponing that item to a given time at the same meeting.

 

3.  New Business

3.A.  High-Speed Surface Transport (HSST)

Ken Takao, Itochu Project Manager, introduced himself and his colleague, Frank Latino, a consultant to Itochu International, Inc.  Mr. Latino showed how the HSST design has evolved from its initial concept.  The system that is being suggested for the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Project is known as Urban MagLev.  This train is propelled by a linear induction motor and travels at a top speed of 62 miles per hour (mph).   This train is very safe; it cannot derail.  It is also very green; there is very little vibration, and its noise level is about 60 decibels.

Discussion Highlights:

[Note:  Unless otherwise specified, questions were answered by Mr. Latino.]

·        In response to a question by Louise Horio: Some acronyms used in the presentation were defined: 1) HSST means High-Speed Surface Transport, 2) RFI means Request for Information, and ATO means Automated Train Operation.

·        In response to a question by Patricia Blum: The Urban MagLev train design meets the American Society of Civil Engineers standards and the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Access by the disabled onto the trains is smooth because the lower speed of the train allows for a tight gap between the platform and the train.  Wheelchairs can be locked into place; access widths meet ADA standards.

·        In response to a question by Ms. Horio: This train can withstand relatively high winds.  Winds over 50-60 mph would halt operation of the train.

·        In response to a question by Wendell Lum: The linear induction motor is equivalent to the Vancouver Sky Train in its efficiency and its consumption of electricity.  This train is designed to be grade-separated.  The emergency egress for this system is between the two trains, allowing for a lower profile guideway. 

·        In response to a question by Carl Jacobs: There are eight trains currently running on the Nagoya system.  Itochu International will be proposing three or four cars per train in Honolulu.

·        In response to a question by Daisy Murai: Station dwell times allow sufficient opportunity for getting on and off of the train.  There are sensors that would not allow the doors to close if there is something in the doorway.  There will also be closed-circuit cameras and visual warning for approaching trains.

·        In response to a question by Cliff Slater: The high-speed trains used in Shanghai are from another company; the presenters were not aware of the basis surrounding the recent protests for that system.

·        In response to a question by Loy Kuo: The train will require outside electricity.  There will most likely be two or three substations for this system.

·        In response to a question by Richard Mori: The capacity of this system is about 375 people per train, with a train running every few minutes. 

·        In response to a question by Gil Riviere: There will be two tracks running the entire length of the system.  A pinched-loop configuration allows the train to switch tracks at the end of the route and head back in the other direction.

·        In response to a question by Scott Belford: The train will hit the maximum speed (62 mph) about seven times from end-to-end.  It requires approximately ten seconds to reach its top speed.

·        In response to a question by Mike Becher: Passengers can move from car to car within the train.  Emergency exits will include both ends of the train.  The client’s requirements will determine what type of security system is used to detect incursion into the right-of-way.

·        In response to a question by Mary Protheroe: Each car can seat 75-95 people, depending upon the seating configuration.

 

3.B.  Update on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Subcommittee

Gordon Lum noted that, since the purpose of the subcommittee was to study how the CAC could best help the Policy Committee in its advice regarding PPP, he sought guidance from the Policy Committee Chair Will Espero.  In Mr. G. Lum’s conversation with Policy Committee Chair Espero, the Chair indicated his appreciation of the past efforts of the CAC in this area and his assessment that the fate of the PPP is in the hands of the Legislature.  Since the Legislature will have the final say on PPP, Chair Espero did not feel it would be productive for the Policy Committee to continue its discussion on PPP.  He added that the legislative members of the Policy Committee will take what they have heard from the CAC with them when they deliberate on this issue at the Legislature. 

Mr. G. Lum noted that providing input to the Policy Committee is most effective in those areas under their jurisdiction, such as the Oahu Regional Transportation Plan or the Transportation Improvement Program.  It is less effective when the area is in another entity’s jurisdiction such as the decision on PPP (HB 70).   He added that when legislators sit on the Policy Committee, they are not acting as legislators, but as Policy Committee members.

Mr. Belford, Chair of the PPP Subcommittee, summarized the meeting that occurred on January 9, 2008.  He stated that the subcommittee desired to look at both pros and cons of the PPP issue and to produced some type of a report by April, for consideration by the CAC.  The subcommittee wishes to avoid stoking any past fires associated with particular pieces of legislation and to honor their role as objective members of the public presenting both sides of the issue.  Mr. Belford said that the subcommittee will reevaluate their future meetings.  He encouraged those CAC members wishing to express support for PPPs to testify at the Legislature as a representative of their own organization.  Mr. Belford asked members of the CAC to provide the subcommittee with reference material that would also present the down-side of PPP.

Discussion:

·        Joseph Francher pointed out the purpose of the subcommittee was to investigate the PPP issue and provide a recommendation to the CAC; not to direct their efforts to the Policy Committee.  Presenting pro and con issues of PPPs to the CAC is worthy and appropriate for this subcommittee.

·        Mr. Slater stated that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is encouraging states to apply for funding that is available, whether or not there is legislation in place.

·        Mr. G. Lum indicated that the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) has already taken advantage of an FHWA opportunity to pursue HOT lanes by attending a workshop in Minnesota.  The outcome indicated that legislation is critical to proceed.  The HDOT is supportive of PPPs.

 

4.  Other Business

Future Agenda Topics

·        Vice Chair Magaldi suggested a future agenda item be an update by the City Department of Transportation Services on the fixed guideway project.

·        David Brown suggested a future agenda item be second access for the Waianae Coast.

·        Mr. Slater suggested a future agenda item be a rebuttal to the Smart Growth presentation that was given in September 2007.

·        Ms. Curry inquired about the status of the CAC survey of potential agenda topics that was voted upon and prioritized.

·        Mr. G. Lum stated that the survey results were provided to Chair Carole.  The revised agenda format was partially implemented to respond to the CAC’s desire to propose topics they felt were important.

·        In response to a question by Ms. Protheroe: Chair Carole stated that he has some control over the agenda topics unless a motion is approved by the CAC to place a particular topic on an agenda.  That action would bind the Chair to place that item on the agenda. 

 

5.  OahuMPO Meeting Highlights - Policy Committee & Technical Advisory Committee

Ms. Yasuda announced that there were meetings of both the Policy Committee and the Technical Advisory Committee since the CAC last met in December.

·        The Policy Committee met on Monday, January 7, 2008. At that meeting, the Policy Committee:

o       approved Revisions #2 and #3 to the FYs 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program,

o       heard a report of the Metropolitan and Statewide certification review, and

o       heard highlights of CAC meetings provided by Chair Carole.

·        The Technical Advisory Committee met on Friday, January 4, 2008  At that meeting, the Technical Advisory Committee:

o       made a recommendation to the Policy Committee on revisions to the FYs 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program, and

o       heard results of the Metropolitan and Statewide certification review.

6.  Announcements

There were no announcements.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:01 p.m.