| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | ||
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1 | First Name | Last Name | Candidate for | 1. What will you do to ensure Honolulu completes all 121 priority 1 bike projects by 2024 as required by The Honolulu Bike Plan. | 2. How will you help achieve Oahu’s goals of zero deaths among all road users by 2035 from Vision Zero and to become carbon net-negative by 2045? | 3. Describe ways you have helped implement safer walking and bicycling in your community. | 4. Do you ever use a bicycle to get around? What's your main mode of transport? | 5. According to People for Bikes, Honolulu is ranked 79th out of 104 cities in the US for bike friendliness. Why do you think it’s important to have a bike and pedestrian-friendly community and how will you help achieve this? | 6. I support the installation of protected bike lanes even if that means removing a motor vehicle lane and/or parking spaces. (Strongly Disagree = 1 to Strongly Agree = 10) | Explain your response in number 6. | 7. Vehicular homicide can lead to 0-10 years of prison and $25,000 fines in Hawaii. I support more stringent laws such as 2-60 years like other states. (Strongly Disagree = 1 to Strongly Agree = 10) | Explain your response in number 7. | 8. In Hawaii, texting and driving leads to a $300 fine. Other states have stricter laws like in Alaska, where it’s considered a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 and one year in prison. I support increasing the penalties of distracted driving. (Strongly Disagree = 1 to Strongly Agree = 10) | Explain your response in number 8. | 9. Other comments? | |
2 | Matt | Weyer | Honolulu City Council District 2 | Completing the Honolulu Bike Plan will require coordination between federal, state, and city stakeholders to ensure that adequate funding is secured and construction is timely. As a Coucilmember, I would support any appropriations necessary in the city budget to follow through with the plan. I would also work with my state and federal counterparts to ensure that the project is moving forward. One of my main goals is to move the City to more aggressively pursue federal funding opportunities by having a full-time planner dedicated to identifying and applying for federal grants. Securing such funds will both provide new sources and free up money already in the budget to increase services for our residents. | We must do all that we can to prevent road user deaths and injuries, especially pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths by vehicles. The City’s Complete Streets initiative is moving us towards safer pedestrian walkways and bike paths in our communities; however, implementing the initiative must be a higher priority. I would support increased funding in the budget to make any necessary infrastructure improvements and complete new projects. The bike paths in District 2 are in particular need of both repairs and greater interconnectedness. According to the Hawai‘i State Energy Office, transportation accounts for around 55% of total energy emissions. Transportation emissions must be addressed in order to achieve carbon net-negative emissions by 2045. I believe the City must more actively pursue the transition to an electric bus fleet, increase accessibility to EV charging stations, and incentivize the use of multi-modal transportation, including public transit, biking, and walking. We also need to restore bus routes that were cut during the pandemic, especially in District 2, and increase access to Biki stations. | As a first-time candidate, I look forward to working with our community to address the concerns that they have. As I have been walking the district these past few months, many residents have raised concerns about our roads, sidewalks, and other basic infrastructure. In some areas, sidewalks and bike lanes are completely lacking, and in others the infrastructure is in such disrepair that it creates a danger for kupuna, children, and those needing mobility assistance. Part of this process has involved educating the community about the Honolulu 311 app, working with them to submit these repair needs directly to the city. As a Councilmember, I would directly follow up on the department’s response and work to ensure that any necessary funds are appropriated in the budget. By encouraging the City to pursue more federal grant opportunities by funding a full-time planner position, I also hope to achieve greater improvements in our community. | I use a bicycle recreationally as a lot of the business I do requires me to travel longer distances. Understanding the need for cleaner transportation alternatives, my main mode of transportation is my plug-in hybrid car. I hope to work on achieving a greater amount of and increased access to bike lanes and multi-modal transportation alternatives throughout Council District 2 so biking and public transit can be a more feasible and convenient option for our community. This includes working to restore bus routes that were cut during the pandemic and repairing and connecting bike lanes around the district. | Bike and pedestrian-friendly communities are essential for promoting strong multi-modal transportation. Multi-modal transportation is dependent on safe and convenient access to biking paths and pedestrian crosswalks accompanied by coordinated bus and rail services. Through our City budget I will work to support multi-modal transportation with improved, raised, or protected sidewalks in residential areas and additional safety measures for bike riders on shared roads in business and special districts. These initial steps will help to create more equity, safety, and convenience in transportation alternatives. | 10 | I support more protected bike lanes, especially in areas where riding on the sidewalk is prohibited. The Complete Streets initiative will help protect and create more roadways, pathways, and walkways that can be utilized by all travelers. Removing motor lanes and/or parking spaces can be appropriate to create these safer streets. I’ll note that areas of Council District 2 lack parking, sidewalks, bike lanes, and meaningful bus access all together. With this in mind, we must ensure that all of Oʻahu has access to all of the infrastructure and modes of transportation needed to support an improved quality of life and to keep our community safe. | 6 | As a former domestic violence prosecutor, I have seen the impact of crime on our community firsthand. I believe everyone should be held accountable, especially when our community experiences a death. Right now there are three types of negligent homicide, a B Class felony, C Class felony, and misdemeanor. I support the current law, but I do believe that the City and State can do more to protect life and create safer environments. This includes the policies discussed above relating to Complete Streets, better community education, and more stringent civil penalties at the distracted driving level to prevent folks from committing negligent homicides. | 10 | Distracted driving can cause injury and death. I would support increasing the fine and requiring mandatory community service and a mandatory driver safety course. Right now distracted driving is a violation, a step higher than the civil infraction level assigned many other traffic citations. I would not support making the conduct a criminal misdemeanor, but I do believe that mandatory community service and driver safety courses would discourage distracted driving more than a simple fine. | ||
3 | Tyler | Dos Santos-Tam | Honolulu City Council District 6 | In addition to ensuring that there is adequate funding in the budget, in order to complete these projects there will need to be leadership from the City Council level in a few key areas in order to make the plans happen: 1) We need Councilmembers who are going to be active in supporting the City's efforts to apply for and receive all federal funding we are entitled to, especially with more federal infrastructure funding being made available to municipalities and MPOs; 2) We need to work collaboratively with our partners on the State side on HIDOT interface issues, as many of the major routes and bikeway connections that will make our overall network functional require State participation; and 3) We also need leaders who are willing to bring together stakeholders and come up with workable solutions to address community opposition to expanded bike infrastructure, e.g. from neighboring businesses who fear the impacts of reduced street parking. | I agree with the Oahu MPO Vision Zero strategy, and generally support the implementation of its recommendations to utilize smart street design to calm traffic, reduce speeds, and promote walkability. In order to move to carbon net-negative, we need to accelerate the movement toward electric vehicles (including cars, mopeds, and the City's own fleet). | I was the Chair of the Liliha Neighborhood Board's Complete Streets and Pedestrian Safety Committee, and worked diligently for years to make Liliha Street safer for pedestrians after community member Leslie Chan was hit by a car in a marked crosswalk while walking her dogs. I also helped to convene a joint Liliha Neighborhood Board and Nuuanu Neighborhood Board meeting and community rally after a bicyclist was killed at the corner of Nuuanu and Judd St. I have testified on behalf of our City's bikeshare system and opposed plans to eliminate Biki stations from Chinatown. As a candidate for the City Council, I have met with many neighbors who have been concerned about pedestrian safety in their neighborhoods, and have taken action over the past few months to address their concerns, including repairing signage, securing a commitment from the City to do a traffic safety study on side streets in Nuuanu, and more. | I am proud to be a regular user of Biki and have held a monthly pass since the inception of the program. I frequently utilize the Biki system to do my personal errands and to get to meetings, and generally get around in the Downtown/Kakaako area. I also utilize the bus on a regular basis, especially in areas where it is difficult to drive and park, such as traveling to Downtown and Waikiki. Of course, I have to utilize my personal vehicle especially during the campaign season. | For me, having a bike and pedestrian-friendly city is a matter of social equity to ensure that everyone can get around our island in a meaningful way. As a major tourist destination, having biking and pedestrian options is also very important to give our visitors alternatives to having to rent a car. As explained above, I think it's important that we come up with ways to implement and carry out the priority bike infrastructure in the Oahu Bike Plan, and even within the priority list, make sure that we complete projects that are going to fill the "gaps" in our bike network and creating interconnectivity, and complete projects that will make the most impact immediately. | 8 | Yes, but we also need to be sensitive to the needs of neighboring residents and businesses. This means that the City needs to be proactive in engaging stakeholders, rather than be blindsided later on by community opposition. | 7 | Increased fines and prison time can serve as a deterrent, but this should not excuse the City government from its responsibility to provide thoughtful planning, implement traffic calming measures, and mitigate dangerous situations. Simply increasing fines and penalties is not enough. | 7 | As with above, I think we need more than just increased fines and penalties. As we have seen, even after Hawaii implemented increased fines and penalties, incidences of distracted driving have continued to increase. | ||
4 | Dennis | Nakasato | Honolulu City Council District 6 | Must be sure that the proper organization//agency is actively pushing the funding for the plan...and also be sure that whatever up grades/revisions for the plan is watched closely... | Zero deaths sounds good, but is it for real? Government can pass and regulate rules of the sreet use for walkers, joggers, bikers and auto drivers and impose severe penalties for violators of these rules, but in real life, there will always be a few who take chances and end up as a statistic of a road incident. 23 years is a long time away, especially for me at my age....but for the sake of my great-great grandchildren and all others I hope the engineers will produce machinery/vehicles/airplanes that are carbon free. I;m sorry but I don't know what carbon net-negative is. Carbon zero I understand, but net-negative? Educate me..... | Sorry but I haven't help implement any of that...was in no position to do so. | No, I don't own a bike...Either the bus or I drive...Depends where I go and the parking situation there. | Keep reminding the general public to watch out for pedestrian/bike safety...As more and more people walk and use a bike, we all need to be aware of these people who do so. Especially drivers so like to scare pedestrian/bikers by driving close to them. Watch out for trucks and buses who have rear-view mirrors that stick way out.... | 10 | Ths reducing the # of parking stalls and vehicle lanes will hopefully encourge more people to walk or ride a bike....thus keeping the # of vehicles down....Got to start somewhere. | 10 | Strigent laws are only good/effecive if they are applied and seriously enforced.. | 10 | What about political sign holding as a distraction? They help to distract the driver..penalties will work..only if seriously applied...other wise people don't care and will test them.. | I'm glad there are people like your group who are trying to make it safer for our bikers and pedestrians....People do things only if it is deemed safe to do so.... |