Minutes of the
Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Wednesday, October 27, 2004, 1:00 p.m.
Department of Transportation Fifth Floor Conference Room
869 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, Hawaii

Member(s) Absent: Steve Wong (FAA, ex-officio)

Guests Present: John Muggridge (Kaku Associates)
   
Staff Present: Gordon Lum, Shevaun Low, Lori Arakaki, Laureen Brennan, Michelle Kurisu, and Pamela Toyooka

The meeting was called to order at 1:01 p.m. by Chair Glenn Yasui. A quorum was present.

Chair Yasui introduced Dr. A. Ricardo Archilla, the new ex-officio representative of the University of Hawaii, and asked those present to introduce themselves.

I.    MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 8, 2004 MEETING

The minutes of the October 8, 2004 meeting were unanimously accepted as circulated.

II.    OAHU REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN (ORTP) – BASELINE PROJECTS

Shevaun Low gave a brief summary of the ORTP project status and introduced John Muggridge of Kaku Associates. Mr. Muggridge reviewed the project schedule and the criteria for selecting the baseline projects. He also reviewed the highway and transit projects that were proposed as baseline projects. The first transit project was a series of bus-bays and other improvements on Dillingham Boulevard. This project had been recently approved by the Policy Committee as an amendment to the FY 2004-2006 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The other project was the Bus Rapid Transit-Initial Operating System (BRT-IOS).

Gordon Lum said that baseline projects should be a conservative list of projects that would be almost guaranteed to be implemented. Mr. Lum pointed out that the BRT-IOS project was in the TIP and met the criteria for a baseline project. However, a recent decision by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) said that the project, as it appears in the TIP, is ineligible for federal funding. Because of this, there is some question as to whether the BRT-IOS should be included in the list of baseline projects.

Vice Chair Toru Hamayasu said that the issue centered around the City beginning work on a portion of the IOS without having prior federal approval. The Department of Transportation Services (DTS) disagrees with the FTA ruling and maintains that there were two phases to the IOS. Phase I was built without federal funds and was nearing completion. Phase II included widening of Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalia Road. This latter phase was to include federal funds and is the portion of the project that has been declared ineligible for federal funds by FTA. DTS had applied for the separation of these projects in November 2003, but FTA did not address the issue.

Mr. Lum proposed that the non-federalized portion of the IOS be included in the baseline project list, but that the federalized portion not be included.

Vice Chair Hamayasu said that the funds for this project had lapsed on September 30, 2004. However, there was a bill in Congress to fund the widening of Ala Moana Boulevard and Kalia Road, the traffic signal prioritization, and the purchase of buses. Three of the four elements of the IOS project are included in the Congressional bill.

Mr. Lum recommended that the baseline list include a transit system that the City could implement in the near future and contained portions of the BRT-IOS that were under construction or under contract for construction. Vice Chair Hamayasu said that a new bus line would be on the ground by November 8, 2004. He asked that it be referred to as “E-Transit”. Vice Chair Hamayasu provided a description of the project as:

E-Transit
Include constructed portion of the 5.6 mile Iwilei to Waikiki Bus Rapid Transit System “E-Transit” segment that began operation on November 8, 2004. E Transit also includes: (1) purchase of 10 hybrid electric 60-foot buses (to replace 10 40-foot diesel buses); (2) construction of 20 boarding platforms, 5 of which include raised curb boarding platforms and 5 canopies at the Kuhio, Kapahulu, and Ilalo locations; and (3) construction of variable message signs at 4 locations.

Dick Poirier asked if this decision could be delayed and the project included if the Congressional bill passes. Mr. Lum responded that this could cause a significant delay in the ORTP timetable. Chair Yasui added that he did not expect Congress to pass the highway reauthorization bill this year. Mr. Lum noted that the federalized portion of the BRT-IOS could still be included in the ORTP if there was support, like any other non-baseline ORTP project. It was the designation of the federalized portion of the BRT-IOS as a baseline project and the associated implication that this project was almost guaranteed to be implemented that bothered Mr. Lum.

Mr. Poirier moved and John Mapes seconded that TAC recommend that the Policy Committee endorse the proposed list of projects for inclusion in the 2030 baseline with FYs 2004-2006 TIP Project C23 replaced with a transit service that DTS projects to be in place on November 8, 2004, which is currently called, “E-Transit”. This includes components of the BRT-IOS which are constructed or under contract for construction, and other bus-related purchases and improvements.

The motion passed 5-2 with one abstention. In favor: Hara, Mapes, Poirier, Yasui, Young; Opposed: Earl, Hamayasu; Abstain: Nakagawa.

Chair Yasui asked the OMPO staff to circulate the motion before finalizing it in the minutes.

III.     OTHER BUSINESS

Mr. Lum announced that the November 17th CAC meeting would feature a discussion on Smart Growth with Eric Crispin of the City Department of Planning and Permitting, and Dean Uchida of the Land Use Research Foundation. Mr. Lum invited those present to attend.

Chair Yasui announced that the new Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) needed to be finalized by October 1, 2005. He pointed out that the Oahu portion, the TIP, needed to be completed first.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.