HOT Lanes for Honolulu?

Honolulu, HI is an island paradise, but it also has big city traffic problems. Sam Staley of the Reason Foundation says relief could come in the form of privately-funded HOT lanes.

1 minute read

June 6, 2010, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Staley gives a nice overview of the state of Honolulu development and transportation. He sees public/private partnerships as the way out of the traffic snarl, and gives a thumbs down to the elevated rail project.

Staley writes, "An excellent candidate project would be to add high occupancy toll lanes, or HOT lanes on the H1, to boost travel times and give travelers a meaningful alternative to congestion paralleling from the H1/H2 split to the University of Hawai'i. HOT Lanes let high occupancy vehicles-vans, transit buses, and passenger cars with three or more riders-use them for free. Single occupant vehicles pay a toll for the privilege of ride that is guaranteed at freeway speeds, 24/7.

These roads have fully paid for themselves in other cities, and this may well be the case for Honolulu. This suggests private capital can supplement local funds to build these facilities while shifting the risk away from taxpayers and onto private investors."

Thursday, June 3, 2010 in Hawaii Reporter

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up on Canadian flag with Canada Parliament building blurred in background.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?

As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

April 28, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Hot air balloons rise over Downtown Boise with the State Capitol building visible amidst the high rises.

The Five Most-Changed American Cities

A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

April 23, 2025 - GoodMigrations

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

2 hours ago - SD News

Sleeping in Public

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts

Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

3 hours ago - KSL

Conductor walks down platform next to Amtrak train at station in San Jose, California.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement

An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.

4 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA