Meeting Summary of the

Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, August 15, 2007, 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
American Planning Association	John Valera
Charley’s Taxi	Dale Evans
E Noa Corporation	Tom Dinell
Eye of the Pacific	Patricia Blum
Hawaii Bicycling League	Scott Snider
Hawaii Highway Users Alliance	Lawson Teshima
Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers, Local 996	Michael Costa
Hawaii Transportation Association	Alan Okimoto
Institute of Transportation Engineers	Paul Won
Interagency COORDINATION Councils	CC Curry
League of Women Voters	Jacqueline Parnell
NB #21 Pearl City	Cruz J. Vina, Jr.
NB #23 Ewa	R. Scott Belford
NB #25 Mililani-Waipio-Melemanu	David Aki
NB #27 North Shore	Antya Miller
NB #30 Kaneohe	Wendell Lum
NB #34 Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale	Michael Golojuch
North Shore Chamber of Commerce	Gil Riviere
Pacific Resource Partnership	Richard Kane
Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter	Randy Ching
Waianae Coast Transportation Concerns Group	Dick Boddy
Waikiki Residents Association	Daisy Murai

Members Absent (Reps):

American Society of Civil Engineers	Joy Nishida
American Society of Landscape Architects	Chris Dacus
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii	Dean Minakami
Honolulu Community Action Program	Vai Leatiota
Land Use Research Foundation	Gladys Quinto
Leeward Oahu Transportation Management Association	Gladys Quinto
NB #01 Hawaii Kai	Elizabeth Reilly
NB #02 Kuliouou-Kalani Iki	Linda Starr
NB #03 Waialae-Kahala	Lester Fukuda
NB #05 Diamond Head-Kapahulu-Saint Louis Heights	Michelle Matson
NB #08 McCully-Moiliili	Ron Lockwood
NB #09 Waikiki	Robert Finley
NB #12 Nuuanu-Punchbowl	Jay Fidell
NB #13 Downtown	Burton White
NB #14 Liliha-Alewa-Puunui-Kamehameha Heights	Donald Nitta
NB #18 Aliamanu-Salt Lake-Foster Village	Lorene Godfrey
NB #22 Waipahu	Thomas Maus
NB #24 Waianae Coast	David Brown
NB #26 Wahiawa	Robert Kent
NB #35 Mililani Mauka-Launani Valley	Pamela Young
Tax Foundation of Hawaii	Lowell Kalapa

Guests Present:

Mary Protheroe	AARP
Gregg Matsushima	Hawaii Department of Transportation
Cliff Slater Bobbie Slater Alan S. Lloyd Tom Berg	HonoluluTraffic.com HonoluluTraffic.com HonoluluTraffic.com Representative Rida Cabanilla-Arakawa
Ken LeVasseur	Kahaluu Neighborhood Board #29
Janet Inamine	Moiliili resident
Lisa-Ann Kimura	Office of Council Services
Kevin Killeen

OMPO Staff Present:

Gordon Lum and Marian Yasuda

Chair Charles Carole called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m. A quorum was present.

1. Approval of the July 18, 2007 Meeting Minutes

Rich Kane moved and Dick Boddy seconded that the June 20, 2007 meeting minutes be approved. The motion carried unanimously.

2. “Effective Solutions to Oahu’s Traffic Congestion Problems”

Chair Carole introduced Panos D. Prevedouros, Ph.D., professor of Traffic and Transportation Engineering at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dr. Prevedouros offered examples of different methods that might address Oahu’s traffic problems. His presentation highlighted Tampa, Florida’s Reversible Expressway Lanes as one example for a possible solution.

Discussion Highlights:

[Note: Unless otherwise specified, questions were answered by Dr. Prevedouros.]

· In response to a question by Wendell Lum: Creating the on- and off-ramps for grade separated buses should not be a problem in Honolulu.

· In response to a question by Scott Snider: High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes would not benefit cyclists directly. HOT lanes are a high-capacity solution. No metro system in the United States facilitates bicycles.

· In response to a question by Gil Riviere: Downtown Tampa, Florida and Honolulu are very comparable. The big differences are that Tampa has more freeways than Oahu, and Oahu’s traffic congestion is far worse than Tampa’s.

· In response to a question by Kevin Killeen: National statistics reflect that bicycling is not growing as an alternate form of transportation. Teleworking is the only alternative mode that is growing.

· In response to a question by Tom Dinell: Energy consumption for automobile traffic is less than for rail. The energy consumed to transport one person one mile is better for cars than for rail.

3. CAC Action Regarding Public-Private Partnerships

3.A. Motion #1 stated that the CAC address a letter to the Policy Committee reminding them of Federal guidelines that are in place regarding Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

Mr. Dinell moved and Jacqueline Parnell seconded that the CAC adopt this motion.

Discussion:

· Mr. Kane commented that the CAC serves as an advisory body to the Policy Committee, which has two members that are transportation experts. They do not need to be informed about PPPs. Mr. Kane does not see the problem or the need for this motion.

· CC Curry clarified that, as the proposer of the motion, the intent of the motion was to remind the Policy Committee that, on several issues, they are in non-compliance.

· Ms. Parnell commented that the function of the CAC is to advise the Policy Committee.

· In response to a question by Mr. W. Lum: Chair Carole replied that this motion was directed toward the State government.

· Dale Evans commented that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) certification report points out the need for the OahuMPO to better receive public comment. The County has the authority to do PPP and the State does not.

· Mr. Kane clarified that the discussion is for the first motion on the table, not the second motion on the agenda.

The motion passed with four nays (Kane, W. Lum, Magaldi, and Vina, Jr.) and one abstention (Boddy).

3.B. Motion #2 stated that the CAC make a request of the Policy Committee to urge the Senate Transportation Committee to hold a hearing for House Bill number 70 - House Draft 3 (“Bill”).

Scott Belford moved and Pat Blum seconded that the CAC adopt this motion.

Discussion:

· Mr. Kane commented that the Pacific Resource Partnership (PRP) would support this Bill as a complement to transit. Insofar as the Bill opposes a transit system, they would not support it. PRP has 2 concerns with the Bill: 1) they would like assurances in the Bill that local contractors would be involved, and 2) they would like assurances that area standard wages would apply.

The motion passed unanimously.

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

· There was neither a Policy Committee nor a Technical Advisory Committee meeting since the CAC last met in July.

· There is neither a Policy Committee nor a Technical Advisory Committee meeting scheduled at this time.

5. Announcements

Ms. Yasuda made several announcements:

· The FHWA and FTA report on the certification review was made available to the CAC.

· The final FYs 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) was approved by the Governor and was made available on CD for member organizations. The TIP is also on the OahuMPO website.

· The CAC members have received a questionnaire in the mail, asking them to choose 10 presentation topics that are of interest to them, from a compiled list of presentation topic suggested by the members. Participation in filling out this questionnaire assists the OahuMPO to better understand what topics are considered to be relevant and of interest. The results of the questionnaire will be made available to the CAC Chair as he assists in preparing the monthly CAC meeting agendas. The questionnaire should be mailed or faxed to the OahuMPO office by September 19, or brought to the September 19, 2007 meeting.

· Mr. Dinell requested that a motion made at the previous meeting (that the CAC invite the Chair or Vice Chair of the Policy Committee to attend CAC meetings and that the CAC Chair or Vice Chair reciprocate at Policy Committee meetings) be revisited.

Chair Carole stated that a discussion of this issue could be placed on the agenda for the September 19, 2007 CAC meeting.

Ms. Curry stated that she would like to place a discussion requesting that the CAC have a seat on the Policy Committee on the agenda for the September 19 CAC meeting.

In response to a question by Mr. Kane: Gordon Lum stated that membership on the Policy Committee is determined by State law, Hawaii Revised Statutes 279E. It specifies that the chairpersons of the House and Senate Transportation Committees must sit on the Policy Committee, which explains why neighbor island legislators may sometimes sit on the Policy Committee. In order for the Citizen Advisory Committee representative or Chair, to sit on the Policy Committee as a voting or ex-officio member, the State law would have to be changed. In the past, the Policy Committee Chair has, on occasion, allowed the CAC Chair to sit at the table. The current practice offers the CAC Chair the opportunity to present CAC motions to the Policy Committee.

Ms. Evans stated that the Policy Committee should include a representative of both the public and the private sector. She suggests that the composition of the Policy Committee should be reviewed.

Hearing no objections from the CAC, Mr. Lum offered that the wording of the agenda item be expanded to allow for a broader discussion on this topic.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.