tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495236174238358146.post3938449857749712396..comments2023-06-21T03:21:23.506-07:00Comments on Fix Oahu!: Not Too Late to Make the Right Decision on RailPanos Prevedouroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04252016102314067888noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495236174238358146.post-23852024498716323872016-09-22T14:31:40.736-07:002016-09-22T14:31:40.736-07:00Thanks for your response. I think driverless cars ...<br />Thanks for your response. I think driverless cars are about 15-20 years off still. When hackers can get into just about anything today, what happens when they take over a whole city and create control of cars?<br />I will begin to take driverless cars seriously when I see credible narratives about all the intermediate states of their evolution, and how each will be an improvement that is both technically and culturally embraced. How will driverless and conventional cars mix in roads where the needs of conventional cars still dominate the politics of road design? When a driverless car is at fault in the accident, to what human being does that fault attach? The programmer? What degree of perfection is needed for software that will be trusted to protect not just the passengers, but everyone on the street who is involuntarily in the presence of such a machine? <br />The streetcar reference was a sample of transit meeting no needs in that particular area due to poor planning. It very useful is many, many areas. And planned correctly in those areas. It could be useful in Oahu. We just don't know yet because it isn't built yet.<br />CheersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495236174238358146.post-56781833835592706812016-09-21T11:11:29.181-07:002016-09-21T11:11:29.181-07:001) Search this blog for DRIVERLESS vehicles... sev...1) Search this blog for DRIVERLESS vehicles... several articles on how they can double capacity or more... basically through tight following and narrower lanes.<br /><br />2) Transit ridership has been falling steadily while population and urban population in particular is growing steadily. The streetcar reference was just a sample of government transit meeting no needs.Panos Prevedouroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04252016102314067888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495236174238358146.post-45534711411687580412016-09-20T14:26:24.191-07:002016-09-20T14:26:24.191-07:00Also, the concluding sentence and link about Steet...Also, the concluding sentence and link about Steetcars isn't fair. I agree that Streetcars are a huge waste of money but the planned HART service is rapid transit. Streetcars are SLOW and often mixed in with car traffic. One can walk just as fast. In my opinion this isn't a fair comparison for justifying your post.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5495236174238358146.post-31668505518501335982016-09-20T14:20:29.882-07:002016-09-20T14:20:29.882-07:00How do autonomous vehicles solve congestion? There...How do autonomous vehicles solve congestion? There would still be cars on the road and maybe even more of them. They would be running all over the place not parking and creating more pollution. More money would be spent on new roads to make room for these autonomous cars. Because isn't that a geometry issue? <br /><br />I admit I did not read the Final Environmental Impact Study in which the city admits that traffic congestion will be worse in the future with rail than what it is today without rail. It would be helpful to provide some context for that statement. To me it seems that the rail line would take cars off the roads like public transit rail does in areas like NYC, Boston etc...I guess you are saying the people already without cars would be riding the rail line and that new people moving there would be driving cars instead of using transit?<br /><br />I do like some of your ideas though. I don't know why they didn't establish something like dedicated lane BRT to prove demand first. I am not from Hawaii so I don’t know what bus ridership is along the corridor. Another idea would be to convert what they built into BRT. Like in Eugene Oregon. The EmX buses have their own right-of-way. It seems like this would be the best option given the amount of money already spent. This could be incorporated with your ideas of providing contra flow lanes and on shoulder travel. It also seems like a complete waste to have so much of the completed line travel where there is no density. It seems like they should have done that portion later and concentrated on the reaching Ala Moana Center where all the density is. <br /><br />I have been following this project visually more than through the papers. What I do see in transit news postings tells me that the project is very controversial due to the costs and funding shortfalls. But to be fair, did any of the increases in costs come from delays by the courts? I seem to remember HART having to delay the project due to lawsuits. After seeing pictures of the elevated part of the line through the farmlands (at least that is what it looks like to me), I have always wondered why they didn't just put the rails on the ground like other cities? Is this due to the wet climate and risk of flooding?<br /><br />Cheers and Aloha from the mainland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com