LINDA LINGLE COMMITS LONG LIST OF SUPERFERRY MISTAKES
The Hawai`i state Department of Transportation seems bent on proving it suffered from extreme myopia when preparing for the Superferry.
Of course, No. 1 on the list is the failure to consider public reaction to not conducting an environmental assessment.
At the very least, logic would dictate that the Harbors Division would consider conditions unique to Kahului Harbor before deciding to park the ferry's landing barge in a surge-vulnerable spot.
The division would have had to check no further than its own Kahului harbor master who said last year berth 2C is a poor place for the ferry to tie up.
So the first of the winter swells swept into the harbor and twice broke the barge loose.
The surge really wasn't much, compared to what has been seen in the harbor during winter storms.
Another example of DOT nearsightedness is calling in a traffic expert who doesn't apparently really understand Kahului traffic patterns.
It led to a court order to restripe the lanes on Puunene Avenue at Ka`ahumanu Avenue that is now being reversed.
The DOT stands convicted of gross mismanagement, at the very least.
