overpopulation and overdevelopment

[craigwatanabe]

Re: clueless journalists, dumb politicians...

why should Oahu have to compete with Maui...I mean we're all one state right? The islands should enhance each other as it did back in the 70's and before.

As far as cars are concerned I remember back a few decades ago Japan had a law that pretty much said that if you own a car you have to have private parking for it as well. There was no overnight street parking allowed.

Also cars that were older than 10-years had to pay a certain tax. With this tax it pretty much disqualified a greater portion of pollution producing and deadbeat cars from being driven by having them recycled.

That brings up an interesting suggestion: If you had an old car and you wanted to replace it with a newer one. There should be a tax break if you recycle your car at a local auto dismantler instead of reselling it to someone else to drive. This way another car is removed from the roads when you buy another.

Right now a lot of used cars that don't sell on Oahu end up here on the Big Island for sale at the used car lots. There's a ton of older 80's cars bearing Fxx-xxx series Oahu license plates driving around here. Oahu simply barged it's excess to the Big Island. These cars have maybe a couple years of service before needing to be trashed. The landfills in Hilo is getting pretty mountainous with wrecked cars bearing Oahu license plates.

[kimo55]

Re: clueless journalists, dumb politicians...

If you do those things, you won't be able to compete with Maui! And Maui doesn't even have public transportation yet!

Miulang

when i saw that I thot: These guys really take the masses for nonthinking lugs.
(and they are right...)
but think about that:
"we must compete with Maui for the high end visitor"

sheesh!

[Miulang]

Re: clueless journalists, dumb politicians...

Right now a lot of used cars that don't sell on Oahu end up here on the Big Island for sale at the used car lots. There's a ton of older 80's cars bearing Fxx-xxx series Oahu license plates driving around here. Oahu simply barged it's excess to the Big Island. These cars have maybe a couple years of service before needing to be trashed. The landfills in Hilo is getting pretty mountainous with wrecked cars bearing Oahu license plates.

At least Oahu is getting rid of their problem by trucking the junkers over to the Big Island! On Mau'i, people just leave da buggahs on da side of da road! We had one salvage company dat used to recycle da cars, but da County wen go shut 'em down foa violating da environmental regs. Get one moa company like do da recycling, but da County stay dragging their feet on da permitting. So in da meantime, get all kine clunkers all on da roadside all over da island. I'm sure dat impresses da "high end tourists" big time.

Miulang

[waioli kai]

Cars vs humanity

Not just cars. Individually driven motored vehicles, period.

A so-called 'system of transportation' as manifested in hundreds, thousands, millions of individually driven motored vehicles, is the absence of there "being a system" which allows for it, the 'system' to quenchlessly devour or otherwise just mangle humanity; drink our planet's hydrocarbon reserves as if there were no tomorrow, no future generations of humanity, no consequences, no limits and no war not worth the maintenance of such delusions.

At any macro level of observation, what ever the relatively uniform velocity being observed, our automobile 'system of transportation' usually appears to be of "harmonious arrangement or pattern", a definition of "system"; however, other definitions of "system" distinguish appearance from reality:

system
1 : a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole

On H1,H2 or H3 interdependence is non-extent. Roadways themselves can be considered interdependent, but the vehicles upon those roads are not interdependent. Each vehicle has its own wholly independent existence regardless any other vehicle on the same, or any other, road anywhere.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

(1) : a group of interacting bodies under the influence of related forces

"Interact: to act upon one another." Interaction in any way more than visually can have horrendous consequences.
Every human-driven vehicle in motion is fundamentally under the influence of a force (ie, the driver) wholly unrelated to the force influencing any other similarly driven vehicle.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

(2) : an assemblage of substances that is in or tends to equilibrium

If anything, driving an automobile is an art of, a talent for, avoidance of assemblage, the perfection of the management of disequilibria.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

d : a group of devices or artificial objects or an organization forming a network especially for distributing something or serving a common purpose

"Common purpose", re: automobile transportation 'system': Not getting killed, maimed or otherwise delayed in the process of transport is a guiding purpose for how we drive our vehicles, but, the vehicle's motion has not a purpose beyond that which manifests through its driver, however damaging such an absence of purpose can be and too often is for not only the vehicle but all in its purposeless path.


- - - - - -
Makakilo teen dies when hit by truck Tuesday April 5, 2005

MAKAKILO — In the harried rush of a school-day morning, Dena Ackerman didn't forget to tell her 15-year-old son, "Have a good day. I love you."

Minutes after eighth-grader Nathan Curry left his family's Palehua Hale townhouse on Makakilo Drive yesterday to catch the 7:15 a.m. school bus to Kapolei Middle School, his mother heard "the bang" from her kitchen.

"Even though it sounded like two cars, I knew ... ," said Ackerman, pausing to regain her composure.

.....

Pedestrian deaths in recent years
Nine of the 21 people killed in traffic incidents on O'ahu this year have been pedestrians.

Last year, 24 of the 71 traffic victims were pedestrians.

In 2003, 14 of the 81 people killed in traffic accidents were pedestrians.

In 2002, the 68 traffic deaths included 26 pedestrians.

In 2001, the 79 traffic deaths included 24 pedestrians.

Source: Honolulu Police Department

[pzarquon]

Re: it's the overdevelopment, stoopid!

Local building boom won't go bust, report says
Allison Schaefers, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 6, 2005

"The sheer duration is what makes it this cycle stand out -- 10 years of growth of anything in the economy is remarkable in of itself," [Bank of Hawaii's chief economist Paul] Brewbaker said. But while the industry's growth has been sustained, it's not as robust as in previous years. In the 1991 peak, the value of completed construction projects was about $4.5 billion annually. Taking into account inflation, last year's $4.9 billion in construction and this year's expected $5.5 billion are significantly below the industry record, Brewbaker said. "In a sense, all we've done has gotten us back to where we were, but that's the nature of construction's highs and lows," he said.

[Miulang]

Re: it's the overdevelopment, stoopid!

Local building boom won't go bust, report says
Allison Schaefers, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 6, 2005

And when they run out of undeveloped land to build on, they'll just tear down existing, perfectly useful structures and build on top of that! Look at what's happening in Waikiki, as an example...somehow, I can't imagine any tourist visiting Hawai'i really wanting to go into the Honolulu outlet of the Gap. If I'm going someplace really "different" on a vacation, the LAST thing I would want to do is go shop in a store I can find in my own home town!

NEIGHBOR: "So what did you buy in Hawai'i when you were on vacation?"
TOURIST: "Well, I went into the Gap on Kalakaua and picked up a really cute tank top with stripes for $19.95..."

Miulang

[kimo55]

Re: it's the overdevelopment, stoopid!

Shuler Homes committed an abhorrent travesty when they chopped up the side of a hill at the end of Keahole. (You may witness the carnage coming over the hill to Hawaii kai proper from Kalama valley)
This should NEVER be allowed here in Hawaii.

Turns out this area contained many caves. and you DO know what that means.
What are the repercussions?
You DO know these would be forthcoming sooner or later.
reports of:
Plumbing bursting.
greenboard cracking/falling apart.
Rumor has it they used the cheapest material available for the creation of these rat-traps.
Finials and parapets are made of foam.
How ya suppose da sukkahs, I mean people... like living in a cursed home, made of foam?!

[kimo55]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

and still another "tower" is going up in our Honolulu. A 38 story condo bldg will add one more nail in the coffin at Hobron and Ala Wai. Aptly named watermark waikiki, becuase it will leave a big black mark on the ala wai and ocean by blotting out and obliterating the sky and sun.
Also from the resultant runoff and pollution that kills reef systems and water caused by construction.


We are beginning to ration water. Gridlock is now a common occurrance. Landfills are overtaxed. WHEN will enuff be enuff? Why is greed the unseen god we worship?
I know it's the same song I Sing once a month. But we are allowing the destruction of Hawaii and nobody cares. Apathy rules. ("oh we can't stop people from coming here. If they wanna live here, we gotta find a place for them")
It's sadly pathetic.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

Hawaii (Oahu anyway) will become another Hong Kong in no time unless a moratorium is enacted.

But you know the problem isn't with development, it's the market. A lot of us are saying no more building but where will our Keiki live? We have our own homes or are secure in our rental unit however as our keiki move out where will they move to.

If they cannot find affordable housing here locally, then they will be forced to buy on the mainland...we protect our aina but at the cost of our children leaving the ohana. Yes we must protect our lands from desecration however we must also keep our families intact.

My answer is to allow Ohana building in single-family zoning again. That's really the only legal way to allow families to stay together and slow the expansion of housing across our ag lands.

As we have kids, we add to the overpopulation of our state. As our kids grow up and we make them leave the nest, we add to the overdevelopment.

It's not just mainland investors causing the problems here, it's us too. Who do you see at most of the Kapolei developments? Mostly local folk trying to buy a home. Who do you see buying cars at the local car dealers? Local folks trying to get their families from Kapolei to Urban Honolulu where the work and go to school. We cause the overdevelopment, we cause the traffic. We have to decide what to do because it's us that's the problem.

I left for greener pastures in Keaau where my kids breathe easier and life is slower with lots of land for my family to enjoy. Life is good here in Keaau, I invite those of you who are still trapped in the urban lifestyle of Honolulu to come live the country life of the Big Island. Just don't come all at once

[kimo55]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

Life is good here in Keaau, I invite those of you who are still trapped in the urban lifestyle of Honolulu to come live the country life of the Big Island. Just don't come all at once

the extended ohana is on the way.
floodgates are opening and we advise get ready to plan yer double decker freeway and lite rail...

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

We cause the overdevelopment, we cause the traffic. We have to decide what to do because it's us that's the problem.

I left for greener pastures in Keaau where my kids breathe easier and life is slower with lots of land for my family to enjoy. Life is good here in Keaau, I invite those of you who are still trapped in the urban lifestyle of Honolulu to come live the country life of the Big Island. Just don't come all at once

You've got another 50 years there Craig. By then we'll be complaining about how the government should do something about the volcano because of the lava hazard to the highrises in Royal Hawaiian Estates.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

Hopefully in 50 years Oahu will become the deadzone because everybody left making Oahu a viable alternative again.

As for light rail, the Big Island could definately benefit from a high speed Hilo to Kona Bullet train giving new meaning to the term: Costco run

Home prices are rising here in Keaau but it's still a bargain. Everyday I meet people who have left the crowded lifestyle of Honolulu and have readjusted to the less hectic life here. Lower Puna is fast becoming the land of Honolulu Expatriates. Heck L & L Drive in is moving in to the Keaau shopping center. They are already at the food court next to WalMart in Hilo. But once Zippy's enters the East Hawaii market, that's it, Honolulu has arrived!

I will tell you though, Zippy's will make a killing if they came here. Blaine's drive in's food is so plain. The same goes for Cafe 100 and their locomoco's. The only other diners are Ken's House of Pancakes, Freddy's, Verna's and Dotties. All are okay but only Ken's comes close enough to be a prime contender against Zippy's.

[kimo55]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

But you know the problem isn't with development, it's the market. A lot of us are saying no more building but where will our Keiki live? We have our own homes or are secure in our rental unit however as our keiki move out where will they move to.

If they cannot find affordable housing here locally, then they will be forced to buy on the mainland...

I would be the last person on earth to claim or label a million dollar slot in a towering infernal rat trap: "affordable housing"

[craigwatanabe]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

you know the ironic thing about high rises is that they occupy less of a foot print than the Kapolei projects going on and use less of our natural resources as there are no lawns to water. And with less lawns to fertilize, less runoff into our oceans and aquafers too.

It's not the tall "million dollar slot in a towering infernal rat trap" that's causing all of our water shortages or traffic congestion on our freeways. These buildings are being built right in town where traffic is moot.

I would actually think that these luxury condo's are doing more to protect the Aina than any other construction project where housing is of concern.

What I'd like to see is a complete redevelopment of areas like Makiki, McCully, Waikiki or even Kakaako where there are all these run down two and three story walk up cement and wood apartments. You could take a city block wide bunch of them, tear them down and build villages of two story duplex or quadplex units. These bungalo style buildings would be spread out with expanses of greenery to give the effect of a park like environement in the middle of the urban core.

Waialae Gardens, Tropic Gardens, Tropicana Village in Waialae Nui are good examples of how these buildings could be developed.

[kimo55]

Re: overpopulation and overdevelopment

It's not the tall "million dollar slot in a towering infernal rat trap" that's causing all of our water shortages or traffic congestion on our freeways.

No, it's the thousands of people they house that then swarm out all over the island, congesting kapiolani blvd., H1, etc.