STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1907

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 113

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.R. No. 113 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION URGING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, HONOLULU CITY COUNCIL, AND HONOLULU AUTHORITY FOR RAPID TRANSPORTATION TO FIND A MEANS TO FUND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PARK-AND-RIDE GARAGE AT WAIAWA STATION AND URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO ESTABLISH ADDITIONAL TRANSIT SERVICES BETWEEN CENTRAL OAHU AND WAIAWA STATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu City Council, and Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation to find a means to fund the construction of a park-and-ride garage at Waiawa Station of the Honolulu Rail Transit Project and urge the Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu to establish additional transit services between central Oahu and Waiawa Station.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one member of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board and five individuals.

Your Committee finds that the original plan for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project called for twenty miles of rail, resulting in twenty-one stations and twenty four-car trains traveling from East Kapolei through downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana Center. However, a significant shortfall between projected revenues and construction expenses for the original plan necessitated the submission of a financial recovery plan from the City and County of Honolulu to the Federal Transit Administration for approval and receipt of federal grant funds necessary to complete the project. The financial recovery plan reduced the length of the project, reduced the number of stations, and deferred the construction of a park-and-ride garage at Waiawa Station in Pearl Highlands that was estimated to accommodate one thousand six hundred vehicles. Your Committee believes that the lack of this park-and-ride garage at Waiawa Station will greatly limit the utility of the rail transit line for Central Oahu residents. This measure will help to increase usage of the rail and reduce traffic congestion and the commute time for many residents across the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 113, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 113, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

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GLENN WAKAI, Chair