1. August 23, 2011
To: Mayor Peter Carlisle, Members of the Honolulu City Council, and Members of the
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board
From: Walter Heen, Benjamin Cayetano, Cliff Slater, and Randall Roth
Re: Call for an investigation of apparent negligence
We recently pointed out that
1. Brinckerhoff has a strong financial interest in the proposed elevated heavy rail system;
2. Three former Parsons Brinckerhoff employees formed the company, InfraConsult, which
is supposed to be providing oversight on Parsons Brinckerhoff’s work;
3. A former Parsons Brinckerhoff employee, Wayne Yoshioka, now serves as the City’s
Director of Transportation Services; and
4. Yoshioka’s wife continues to work at Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Such relationships create conflicts of interest that have the potential to lessen accountability. For
example, one related party might hesitate to hold another related party accountable for the
latter’s negligence, even in circumstances where negligence is clear.
With that in mind, we draw your attention to the glaring mistake someone made in routing the
proposed railway and one of its train stations too close to protected airspace around Honolulu
International Airport.1 In 2009 DTS director Yoshioka publicly stated that it would cost $29
million to fix the problem and that the entire amount could be “easily absorbed” within the City’s
contingency fund. He did not identify the party that made the mistake, nor did he explain why
taxpayers should bear the cost of what presumably was someone’s negligence. Given the
conflicts of interest noted above, we believe the Mayor, Council, or HART board should conduct
a full investigation into the circumstances of the routing mistake. If the project manager or any
other consultant is found to have been negligent, that party or parties—rather than Honolulu
taxpayers—should be held accountable for the financial consequences of their negligence.
1
See, e.g., Sean Hao, Honolulu rail route too close to runways, may have to shift, HONOLULU ADVERTISER, Mar. 17,
2010, at http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Mar/17/ln/hawaii3170349.html and Honolulu rail project
will have to pick up tab for airport route fix, HONOLULU ADVERTISER, Mar. 25, 2010, at
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Mar/25/ln/hawaii3250340.html.