Dash of Calabash

Given the postponing of the Akaka Bill due to Katrina it bears repeating that these are the Senators to contact concerning your thoughts on the bill. Here.

In light of the recent implementation of the Gas Cap law here in Hawaii, which is already having negative effects, this article by John Stossel on “price gouging” is timely and apropos. Since the rationalization for the gas caps was to prevent “gouging” on the part of oil companies exploring the reason for sudden price increases examines the reasons and results behind them. They result is more positive than you might think.

HOV lanes are slowly becoming just as congested as regular lanes due to changes in their implementation.

High-occupancy vehicle lanes, which were originally meant as an incentive for carpoolers to travel with ease, are now becoming as clogged as their neighboring freeway lanes, says John Tierney of the New York Times.

The answer is simple:

The answer, says Tierney, is high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, which would benefit everyone:

* HOT lanes would be free of charge for car pools, jitneys or buses, but would be available to other drivers willing to pay a toll that would vary with demand.

Whole article here.

Finally a first for Honolulu on the plus side as opposed to the usual dismal first concerning taxes, poor business climate and the like. In the wake of the disaster in New Orleans Forbes came up with a list of the safest and the least safe places to live in the country. NewsMax reports:

Topping their list was Honolulu, Hawaii, which Forbes explains lives up to its reputation as a paradise. Blessed with year-round beautiful weather and long stretches of beach, it is also not prone to tornadoes, wind, hail or extreme weather.

While Hawaii is susceptible to hurricanes they don’t happen with enough frequency to skew the numbers against Honolulu by comparison, as the article makes clear.

Long the darling of rail proponents, Portland, Oregon is now considering public-private partnerships to relieve traffic congestion. For all of its love affair with light rail and smart growth, traffic congestion in Portland is reaching crisis proportions. The Urban Growth Boundary was recently expanded because a referendum restricted further densification (Page 5 of this PDF file) and money diverted to rail, because rail is so expensive, has resulted in very little being spent to improve and augment highways and roadways. This has lead to the traffic congestion crisis. Now with new areas being considered for more housing construction the stress on the existing infrastructure will only increase. Thus the consideration of toll roads.

On Wednesday, state transportation officials unveiled four proposals from companies for three projects meant to relieve congestion: a bypass through Newberg and Dundee, widening of the southern portion of Interstate 205, and a new road from I-205 toward Damascus.

The article also notes:

About a half-dozen states have built such road projects, and a dozen more have legislation allowing the partnerships, said Jim Whitty, who manages the private-public program authorized by the 2003 Oregon Legislature.

What the article doesn’t mention is that a good portion of these projects in other states are High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. This is really the most effective usage of toll roads for reducing traffic congestion.

Also ,this is not something that government is forcing down the throats of the populace. To the contrary:

Newberg Mayor Bob Stewart said surveys show support for tolls as a way to avoid a downtown clogged with commuters, truckers and tourists headed to wineries and the Chinook Winds and Spirit Mountain casinos.

Finally there is a telling quote by a public official:

“The obvious thing is making sure the process is transparent as possible . . . or else they never will accept it.”

Gee, you suppose that could ever happen here? To read the whole article go here.