MY Christmas present from the state is the opening of the H-3 freeway. Over, at last, are years of controversy, back-to-the-drawing-board demands and a resiting from Moanalua Valley to Halawa Valley. H-3 lets thousands
enjoy scenic viewsThe delays were almost all won in the courts rather than from our elected bodies. The strategy of those who wanted no highway at all was to raise one objection at a time on environmental or process grounds, and not raise Nos. 2, 3, 4, etc. until each earlier one had been dealt with. All the time opinion polls showed the public remained in support of the highway, Windward residents most strongly.
The delaying tactics were a skillful effort to exhaust proponents. But finally Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and others cried "enough already" and got a bill through Congress to end the environmental objections and let H-3 go ahead.
The highway opens up beautiful scenery along with doing its job of speeding up Windward commuting. Would that we could have had it 20 years earlier and maybe $1 billion cheaper. Democracy needs checks and balances but this process was allowed by the courts to stretch out much too long.
Yes, H-3 is a big concrete swath through previously pristine land. But now vistas of Halawa Valley and close-up looks at the serrated Windward side of the Koolau mountains can be enjoyed by almost all of us. Previously, only a few could hike in to enjoy them.
The matter of Hawaiian sacred places is significant but much has been done to save the most important ones and even make them more accessible.
There will never be an H-4, I'm quite sure. Whether we ever will return to the nixed idea of rail transit is less certain. We may stall it by reducing commuting, with more people living near their jobs, as in the new city of Kapolei and revitalization of Kakaako and inner Honolulu as living places.
Better bus service. Customized van service. Staggered hours. Mandated smaller cars. Higher gasoline taxes. Ride-sharing. Peak hour toll charges. Deliberate parking structure shortages to force commuters onto buses. Point-to-point ferry service along our shores. Devices to slow population growth and divert more growth from Oahu to the neighbor islands.
We will have to look at all of the above since, with H-3, we have pretty well reached our highway max.
H-3 opens up new sight-seeing joys, particularly in light traffic. Its tunnels are far less claustrophobic than the Kalihi Valley tunnels. The short one approaches being beautiful in its own right. I would wish H-3 didn't have view-cutting solid concrete barriers on its sides but safety demands them on a high-speed road with elevated viaducts. View slits would weaken the safety margin, the state Transportation Department says. There's a lot of view over the barriers, fortunately.
NEW sight-seeing combinations now are open to us. What about a loop across H-3 to Windward and back up the Pali? Or doing an H-3-through-Waimanalo-and Hawaii Kai loop?
What about some stops on Windward while you are there? Close by is Hoomaluhia Park, a vast nature preservation center with great mountain views. Kaneohe Bay Drive is special.
I'd even suggest McDonald's in Windward City to see the charming wall-size Martin Charlot mural done for its 25th birthday. It uses Hawaiian figures and scenes to illustrate 125 proverbs.
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