just like to point out that the assumption there are Kona folks and Hilo folks and they all have the option to stay on one side or the other is not true.
In my case, my younger son and his wife and my grandson live Kona side and I live on the east side ... and it's hard to get over to see them.
My doctors are in Waimea; it's hard to get there from here, yet it's hard to find a new doctor.
The people I know who grow up on the island have friends and family all over the place. People need to get around, and it's getting harder with all this commute traffic and trucking ...
I'd be happy to see better transit connect points around the island ... especially to carry the commute load. I doubt it would go where I want to go, but if it took cars off the road that would be great.
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I think an express shuttle system would be great, albeit a bit expensive to cover fuel, unless they could create a local sugar ethanol fuel. But what if there were an express bus that left ever half hour going each direction through saddle road.
"How do you know i am mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the cat "or you wouldnt have come here."
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I'd rather see a superferry route from Hilo to Honolulu. That is something I would use.
Just expand the Heleon Bus system. It works and it is free.
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It would be great to get to the other side of the island faster, but as was mentioned then you need transportation once your over there...not like you can walk from Kona to Mauna Kea Beach...
Do you think the possibility of an actual alternate route out of and into Pahoa/lower Puna is ever gonna happen?
Carrie
"All I can say about life is, Oh God, enjoy it." Bob Newhart
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Alternate route Carrie ... No time soon.
Too many things against it at the moment.
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Where are there existing rails? We have 3 touristy railroads here in Mich that take you deep into the attraction - saves you the hike into or out of.
I bet tourists would fund a partial railway between the 2 cities, and the locals could park and drive, then the bus or carpool would take over. It makes sense to reuse such resources, I think.
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Down Kama'ili road (Opihikau road) there's the remnants of a railroad roundabout that marked the end of the line for the sugarcane train. If you know "tatoo Hugh"; it's on his property.
I'd say rather thanrail - why not just subsidize air flights from one side to the other and make them really cheap.
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I think expanding the bus system(and installing bike racks on 'em) would be a better and cheaper option.
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when bonk ran for mayor one of her visions was light rail circling the island, which at the time i thought was a great idea, now 7 years later i still do, the longer you wait to do the right thing , the more it costs(just read today the warmonger in chief wants another $50 billion for his failed oil war, maybe instead of throwing away that money they could throw each state a billion?)
