Honolulu Rail, Sea Level Rise,
and the University of Hawaii
The Honolulu Rail is the largest public works project in the history of Hawai`i. Over 84% of the funding ($7.8B of the total $9.3B) is coming directly from our tax base. Given its cost and expected longevity (100+ years), smart planning of the route is crucial.
The current route was planned in the 1990’s before there was worldwide consensus on global warming and its effects on sea level. Since 2017, numerous studies and reports have documented these effects locally, and there is now widespread agreement that sea levels in Hawaii will rise between 3.2 and 6 feet by 2100. (See Sea Level Rise Guidance from the City’s Climate Change Commission (adopted June 5, 2018); Honolulu Seal Level Rise Inundation Risk from Pacific Island Ocean Observing System; and other sea level rise science reports on the Resources Page.)
In addition to sea level rise, flooding from groundwater inundation and reverse flow through the municipal drainage system will result in dangerous and impassable roadways in Honolulu by the 2030s, according to a new study published in March 2020.
State and county officials have stressed the need to plan for the impact on low-lying areas, but only token changes have been made to the rail project. The final 4.2-mile leg contains four stations that will be under water during high tide within the next few decades, yet the only change to the rail project has been to raise stairway landings by six feet, leaving commuters to negotiate flooded streets on their own.
We believe you will agree, it is imperative to reroute the rail in the center city to higher ground. Where the existing route will dead-end in Ala Moana Center, a new mauka route will facilitate the public’s long-standing desire for the rail to go to the University of Hawaii (UH). Residents have known for years that freeway traffic eases dramatically when the UH is not in session, and since 2018 City and State officials finally have acknowledged the need for rail to reach UH.
In a poll commissioned by HTF, Market Trends Pacific found that a strong majority of residents favor a UH destination over Ala Moana as well as Middle Street.
The current route was planned in the 1990’s before there was worldwide consensus on global warming and its effects on sea level. Since 2017, numerous studies and reports have documented these effects locally, and there is now widespread agreement that sea levels in Hawaii will rise between 3.2 and 6 feet by 2100. (See Sea Level Rise Guidance from the City’s Climate Change Commission (adopted June 5, 2018); Honolulu Seal Level Rise Inundation Risk from Pacific Island Ocean Observing System; and other sea level rise science reports on the Resources Page.)
In addition to sea level rise, flooding from groundwater inundation and reverse flow through the municipal drainage system will result in dangerous and impassable roadways in Honolulu by the 2030s, according to a new study published in March 2020.
State and county officials have stressed the need to plan for the impact on low-lying areas, but only token changes have been made to the rail project. The final 4.2-mile leg contains four stations that will be under water during high tide within the next few decades, yet the only change to the rail project has been to raise stairway landings by six feet, leaving commuters to negotiate flooded streets on their own.
We believe you will agree, it is imperative to reroute the rail in the center city to higher ground. Where the existing route will dead-end in Ala Moana Center, a new mauka route will facilitate the public’s long-standing desire for the rail to go to the University of Hawaii (UH). Residents have known for years that freeway traffic eases dramatically when the UH is not in session, and since 2018 City and State officials finally have acknowledged the need for rail to reach UH.
In a poll commissioned by HTF, Market Trends Pacific found that a strong majority of residents favor a UH destination over Ala Moana as well as Middle Street.
The Mayor's Executive Order
July 16, 2018 Mayor Caldwell issued an executive order on climate change and sea level rise in response to guidance issued by the City’s Climate Change Commission. Excerpt from the Mayor's executive order below:
All City departments and agencies are required to:
1. Use the most current versions of the Commission's Guidance and accompanying Brief, and the Report and associated Hawai'i Sea Level Rise Viewer as resources for managing assets, reviewing permitting requests, and assessing project proposals; and
2. Consider how sea level rise and associated climate change risks will impact the City's residents and visitors, infrastructure, communities, policies and programs, investments, natural resources, cultural and recreational sites, and fiscal security; and
3. Use the Guidance, Brief, and Report in their plans, programs, and capital improvement decisions, to mitigate impacts to infrastructure and facilities subject to sea level rise exposure, which may include the elevation or relocation of infrastructure and critical facilities, the elevating of surfaces, structures, and utilities, and/or other adaptation measures; and
. . .
5. Work cooperatively to develop and implement land use policies, hazard mitigation actions, and design and construction standards that mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise
The Goal
With rail construction still 3+ years away from reaching the proposed reroute point, now is the time to reroute the rail away from the waterfront to higher ground, where it can reach the university.