STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1117

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.C.R. No. 109

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 109 entitled:

 

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FERRY SYSTEM FROM THE HOAKALEI RESORT AND MARINA IN EWA BEACH TO DOWNTOWN HONOLULU,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to encourage the Department of Transportation to engage in and facilitate discussions with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services, private developers, and other stakeholders to explore the possibility of establishing a ferry operation from the Hoakalei Resort and Marina to downtown Honolulu. 

 

     This measure also encourages the respective parties to request assistance from Hawaii's congressional delegation to identify possible funding sources for this ferry system.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this resolution from Gentry Homes, Limited and nine individuals.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     In the 1970s, the vision of the City and County of Honolulu was the creation of a second city in Kapolei as a second urban core on Oahu to relieve congestion in east Oahu by distributing population growth westward.  The growth of Kapolei and Ewa is expected to provide more than sixty-five thousand jobs by 2025, making this area a regional commercial center and attracting customers from all parts of Oahu.

 

     In addition to the increasing number of jobs and homes, other new developments will also contribute to the traffic congestion experienced in the Ewa region, including the new University of Hawaii at West Oahu campus, a major super regional park, the Ko Olina Resort and Marina, Kalaeloa, a major deep draft harbor and industrial center at Campbell Industrial Park and Barber's Point, the Hoakalei Resort and Marina, the Salvation Army Kroc Center, and a planned film studio and supporting industrial complex.  All

of these new developments are anticipated to result in increased vehicular flow between the Ewa region and Honolulu. 

 

     Current and planned transportation improvements enhance the flow of vehicles within the Ewa-Kapolei-Makakilo-Kalaeloa corridor, but not the commute between the area and the primary urban center in downtown Honolulu.  Common experience demonstrates that congested conditions exist for the Ewa region because of insufficient capacity on the corridors leading from the Ewa marina, up Fort Weaver Road to the H-1 interchange, and from the H-1 interchange to downtown Honolulu.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 109 and recommends its adoption.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs,

 

 

 

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair