 Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining me here on Think Tech Hawaii's Dokomomo Hawaii program series. I'm the host of this show, which is called, as I said, Dokomomo Hawaii. And Dokomomo Hawaii is an international organization that seeks to preserve and study mid-century architecture of the 20th century. I work at Bishop Museum. I am the Bishop Museum Historian here in Honolulu, the curator for the archives as well. And the program I'm about to show you contains images that come from Bishop Museum. This is the third and last of a three-part series that I've been doing recently on the history of transportation on the island of Oahu. The previous two shows were about the history and the past. But today I want to talk about really more the future of our transportation here. And specifically, I was inspired to do this because we're just about to see the opening of the first segment of our new rail system, formerly known just as HEART, H-A-R-T, standing for Honolulu Area Rapid Transit. And it's now just recently been renamed the Skyline. Well, the Skyline's about to open. And I want to address not only what it is and why it is, but also to look at some of the criticisms and discussions that have gone on around this new rail system to address why they are the way they are, and to look forward as to what this is going to be doing to transportation for us on Oahu. So let's get started with our first slide. So here is the end of the current line as it is built today of the Skyline train. And as you can see, it comes to an abrupt end in what looks like just is out in the middle of nowhere kind of. That's something I'm going to talk about in just a second. But this is going to be not only something that will be in use right now. But again, remember, we're looking toward the future as we look at this train system and what that's going to mean. Let's go to our next slide. So one of the things that people have complained about or have criticized or have asked about in the construction of the Skyline is, why was it built as this huge elevated train system? Why this overhead concrete structure? Why couldn't we just build it with tracks on the ground or as the saying goes at grade? Well, there are reasons for this and there are good reasons for as to why this was done. Of course, it is legitimate to question the expense involved in this because yes, it's far more expensive to build an elevated system than it is to build it at ground level. But again, there are reasons for this. Let's go to the next slide. And one of the reasons is if you build a rail system on the ground, you are dealing with the interaction between the trains and motor vehicles. And not only can that lead to crashes, accidents, things where people can be injured or killed, but also the fact that the entire system has to be shut down if there is a collision like that. But more importantly perhaps for on a day to day level is that what Lulu has had continues to have and will probably always have a great deal of motor vehicle traffic. And so if you see in these photographs, the picture at the bottom is from 1959, that's a traffic jam. The picture at the top right is even more important because this picture was taken in the early 1970s. This is over 50 years ago. There is this immense three lane traffic jam that continues off into the distant horizon. And it is on Kamehameha Highway. This is the exact route that the train system currently occupies in the medial strip on the left. That's where the pillars for the elevated train system now run. So you see that if the train is at ground level, it gets stuck in traffic jams just like everything else does. If traffic is stopped on the rail system, then the train can't go forward. And if there are traffic jams every day in the morning and afternoon, those will in turn potentially slow down the rail. And that's the whole point of the rail is that you are avoiding traffic. If you can't avoid traffic because you're at ground level, you're really negating the whole purpose of this entire structure, of this entire new system. So that's one reason why the tracks are elevated. Next slide. There also are other very much rarer but still important considerations to take into account. And that is sometimes things unexpectedly happen that block transit routes. And here are two photographs of trees that have fallen on streets. The picture at lower right was a very large tree that fell across and blocked all six lanes of King Street back in 1978. Well, yes, I agree that trees don't frequently fall down and block roads and would be not likely to be blocking train tracks either. But even though this is a rare occasion, there are other things that suddenly bring traffic to a halt that you didn't anticipate. It can be a water main break. It can be that a pole falls down because of a vehicle ran into it. All these types of things happen. If you have the rails at ground level, they too can be blocked more likely by unforeseen circumstances like this. And when the rails are blocked, the entire system comes to a stop. Elevating the tracks above ground eliminates a lot of those possibilities. Next slide. People also have said the train is a visual light. They have criticized it for being a big concrete structure being imposed on the city of Honolulu, to which I reply. We already have an immense series of concrete structures far bigger than the train is ever going to be. And those are the H1 freeway overhead viaducts as well as the other parts of the freeway that may be below grade. But in the picture at the top, you can see what the construction of the H1 airport viaduct looked like when it was under construction. This is only a fraction. I mean, the train system is only a fraction of the size of the airport viaduct. And furthermore, people have said, well, tourists are not going to like this. Tourists will think it's an ugly thing that is destroying the landscape. Well, the airport viaduct is the first thing tourists see when they leave the Honolulu airport, the Daniel K. Inouye Airport. And it's hugely bigger than the train system would ever be. Next slide. People have also said, well, but the train system is taking so long and it's costing so much money and it's a boondoggle. Well, to that I would reply, the H1 freeway required 17 years to be built through urban Honolulu. It began in 1952 and the final section opened in just urban Honolulu in 1969. Furthermore, when the H1 freeway was built, it was a far bigger disruption. It caused a tremendous amount of property to be condemned by the government and taken away from private owners. And that included homes, businesses, parks, churches, schools. All of these things were either impacted or wiped out completely by the construction of the freeway, which had to be pushed through an existing urban area. And again, as we are facing with the train system right now on Dillingham Boulevard, all of the infrastructure had to be redone. All of the wiring, all of the plumbing, all of the pipes underground, all of the drainage systems. We've already gone through this with the H1 freeway, which most people don't remember because the freeway has been around for so long. A lot of people weren't here to see it being constructed and they don't know what a disruption it was. And it was far greater than the heart slash skyline system has been or ever will be. Next slide. So the whole purpose of this new train system is to reduce the use of cars and individual motor vehicles are a problem. They take up a lot of space. They require roads to be built for them. They require things like safety structures. They require lighting. And all of those vehicles have to be parked somewhere when they're not in use. So we have to pave large areas for them. And also they are far more polluting. They each one of them is running on its engine. And most of them still today are using gasoline to run internal combustion engines. That means a lot more pollution. If you have an electrical train system running from the main electrical system, it is polluting far less. But yes, we want to look for a future in which we have fewer motor vehicles. Next slide. Unfortunately, that future of motor vehicles, fewer motor vehicles is not going to come instantly. We are not going to see the H1 freeway go from jammed traffic in the photograph on the left to completely empty in the photograph on the right, even though we would love to think that that was possible. No, the train system is not going to immediately produce a great deal less traffic. That's something that people have criticized as well. Well, what's the point of it if we're spending all this money if it's not going to reduce car traffic? It is. But again, you have to think of the future. What is it going to do to traffic in the future? And that's something I'm just about to address. Next picture. Now, people have said the train is a boondoggle because it goes from nowhere to nowhere. And it is true that the last three stations of the system that's just about to open are in mostly unpopulated locations. The other stations are all in what's now already urbanized. But even though it looks like it's pointless to be building train stations to fields of agricultural products like you see in this photograph. In fact, it's always been the case that rail systems have gone, not just to populated areas, but places that haven't been developed yet. Next image. The two previous rail systems that have existed on the island of Oahu were the Oahu Railway that ran trains around the perimeter of much of the island of Oahu, including going into Central Oahu. And the totally separate system, Honolulu Rapid Transit that ran streetcars in urban Honolulu. Very important thing to note, both of the names of both of these businesses, the ORNL started in the 1880s and the HRT in 1901. You'll notice that they have the word land at the end. It's the Oahu Railway and Land Company. It's the Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company. Why does it have the word land? It's because both of them were intended to spur development. And in fact, the ORNL was created specifically so that property in what's now kind of the word Oahu and the Kalei Loa area, et cetera, could be accessed so that it could be developed and sold. Next picture. And let me give you some examples of how that worked. The HRT company in 1903 completed its line, its streetcar line, to Waikiki. And in this photograph you see the streetcar on the left, passing the Moana Hotel on the right. The Moana Hotel opened in 1901. It was the first large hotel in Waikiki. But you can see there's not a lot of other stuff built around this. So why is the streetcar line going there? Well, it's because next photograph, HRT knew that Waikiki was going to develop. And they specifically built something at the end of the streetcar line at the base of Diamond Head next to Gopilani Park. So people would be attracted to ride the streetcar to the end of the line. That is, they built the Honolulu or the Waikiki Aquarium as an attraction for people to get on the streetcar and ride to the end of the line. So the picture on the right shows you where the line ended, as I said, at the base of Diamond Head in Gopilani Park. And they built the aquarium. Well, the University of Hawaii took over the aquarium within a short time. But that was built by HRT, not just because someone said, we need an aquarium. Next picture. The Honolulu Rapid Transit Streetcars also ran to Kaimuki. They ran to the top of the hill at Coco Head Avenue. And in these two pictures, which were both taken around 1913, you can see that the streetcar is running through an area that doesn't have a lot of development. That's because HRT was planning for when these subdivisions gradually were filled in with homes and there would be more riders for their system. And they, in turn, were going to help for that process to occur. They were going to help for people who want to buy land and build houses because they could ride the streetcar. Next. The Oahu Railway did very much the same thing. As I said, it was originally started so that lands could be developed along the line. But they also built a structure for people to ride the train and for the area to be developed. And that was the Haleiva Hotel. The Haleiva Hotel opened in 1899. It was built by the Oahu Railway as a reason for people to ride the train. And it was the first hotel, the first resort hotel in Hawaiian Islands, built in an area that was not already an urban location such as a town or the city of Honolulu. So again, development of land was crucial for both of these rail systems. And that's one of the reasons that they were both constructed. Next. So today we look at one of these new rail stations. And this is it. It's the Kaonei station at the West Oahu College campus. Now, again, as people have criticized, it seems to be out in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it. The West Oahu College campus is located nearby, but at the moment there's not a lot to it. Well, that's not the whole picture of this particular station. Next image. The station does have access on both sides of the highway. As you can see here, there is a walkway over the highway. Well, the station that's closer to us or the part of the station closer to us is what people will use when they're going to the West Oahu College campus. But on the other side across the street, the station already has helped spur a new development. And in the next picture, we can see what that development is. It's called Ho'opili. And Ho'opili, oddly enough, even though it has the name Ho'opili, the train station that's called Ho'opili is not next to this development. That's going to confuse people in the future, I'm sure. But nonetheless, one of the reasons this development has been put where it is is because it's next to a train station. And as you can see, they're already offering, it's already fairly well built up and they are offering, you're saying, homes. They're actually town homes or their apartments in the $400,000 range, which is affordable for the island of Oahu. Next image. Even though the Ho'opili development is right next to a train station, however, you can see by these two pictures, it's still very accommodating for motor vehicles. And this is the type of development we see on Oahu in areas that currently aren't very well built up. There are very big, very wide, very huge streets being built for cars to accommodate cars, as well as things like medial strips too that take up a lot of room. Well, one of, I mean, obviously we're still going to be continuing to do that, but it's hoped that we will be reducing the use of cars as more and more people ride the train from where they live to where the other places they're going for shopping, entertainment or for work. Next image. You are seeing also a tremendous amount of development that's now occurring around Alamo on a center. And these pictures show you the new high rises that are under construction or have been constructed in this area. And it is because the train eventually is supposed to terminate at Alamo on a center. Now, this is also the source of a lot of discussion because the train cost overrun was so high. The original plan to extend it all the way to Alamo on had to be dropped at least for the present. So, even though these buildings are being built in anticipation of increased transportation, at the moment that transportation isn't there. And in fact, it probably is not going to extend all the way to Alamo on center until until 2031. Nonetheless, this is an already heavily urbanized part of Alamo. So it's not as though we're starting from scratch. But it also does point out that Alamo on a from the time it was constructed back in 1959 has served as a transportation terminal. And that has been for buses. So many bus lines begin and end at Alamo on a center already. Alamo on already is a transportation. It's not as though it's something new that somebody came up with that has never been seen before. So that's an important thought as well. The extension of the train line to Alamo on it will will really be continuing something that's already been in existence and in place for many decades now. And in the picture on the right, you can see that not only is the image, not only is this new high rise in place right now. But if you look a little bit beyond it, and just to the left of it and down at ground level, you'll see two new construction cranes for yet another very large high rise and that's that's a closer view that you can see what I'm talking about. So even though the train system does not extend to this location yet. It's eventually almost certainly going to get there. And when it does, it will again be serving a number of people already in this area. And again, this is a this is the point I want to make the train system as it is configured now is not serving necessarily everybody on the island but it is going to be an impetus for development to occur along the rail system and that is something that we have seen not only historically here on the island of a walk was it just showed you. But in fact throughout the world and certainly in the United States when trains began to run in the 19th century. Towns sprang up along trains. So it's not out of the ordinary for a train to be developed or built to a place where there currently isn't a lot of development it is because it's being built in anticipation of that development occurring. And so don't just look at it right now. Don't just see it for what it is right this second. Keep in mind this is going to be in place for many, many decades into the future. And it's going to guide the development of one of the things that we need to keep in mind to is we're trying to prevent urban sprawl on a while we are trying to cut back on the development of single family homes that take up large amounts of space for more concentrated types of housing. So more you concentrate things the more you urbanize things around the trains and their stations, the better a while who is going to be in terms of its livability, and in terms of preserving open space and in fact agricultural land as well. So those are things. Don't don't just think about what you see right this second. Don't just think about the costs, etc. Think back to how things worked in the past think back to the costs that were done in the past think back up to the disruptions and people endured in the past, or the constructions of the transit transportation systems we have now, and think about those in terms of what it means for our current skyline train system next image. So that brings us to the end, not only of this program but also the end, at least in the photograph here of the train system as it is now configured and again just to remind you what I just said, even though the tracks come to this abrupt end right now doesn't mean that's where they're always going to be. Just a short distance away from this particular station at the end of the tracks now is area that's already been developed and there's already become a kind of elite subdivision are shopping center for example, that has development around it. So, look to the future as to the train system continuing to be built out, perhaps more stations being built. Think also to have a lot of the train system is already in place but has not yet opened the next system the next big system the next big train station which will be opened in the next configuration is going to be the Honolulu Airport or the Daniel K. Inouye Airport. That's going to be a major source of travelers coming from the west part of Oahu to get to the airport without having to drive there. So that's something that we can look forward to in the future. I'm looking forward personally to being able to go on the train system for the first time soon after it opens. I'm looking forward to being able to see what the views are I'm looking forward to experiencing the entire process. I'm looking forward to documenting it myself for the future to see what this first system looks like and the time is going to be coming in the future where we're going to be looking back and saying yes it started small, but it's grown into something bigger and it's much more effective for what it is. Thank you all for joining me. I'm DeSoto Brown. This was the Dokomomo Hawaii series or a sort of a sub series of human humane architecture and the next time I'll be doing one of these programs. I'll be back to co-hosting human humane architecture as I have been doing now for a number of years. So again I'm DeSoto Brown. I'm the Bishop Museum historian. Thanks for joining me. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please click the like and subscribe button on YouTube. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our website, thinktechawaii.com. Mahalo.