HonoluluTraffic.com calls judge’s motion a victory for anti-rail activists
HONOLULU—HonoluluTraffic.com, an organization formed to keep elevated rail out of Honolulu, called a judge’s motion filed this morning, a “complete victory.” On December 12, U.S. District Court Judge Wallace Tashima denied the City and County of Honolulu and the Federal Transit Administration’s motion for partial judgement on proceedings related to Honolulu Rail Transit’s compliance with federal environmental laws.
In August, a complaint was filed in Federal court against the Federal Transit Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Wayne Yoshioka, Director of the City Department of Transportation.
Plaintiffs in the complaint include former-Gov. Ben Cayetano, the Small Business Hawaii Entrepreneurial Education Foundation (HEEF), Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, and Cliff Slater.
The complaint contends that the defendants have failed to comply with federal law regarding the Environmental Impact Statement filed by the City for the elevated rail rapid transit project.
In return, the defendants sought in the partial judgement to dismiss certain claims due to the plaintiffs allegedly failing to raise those claims during the administrative process. The defendants had also moved for dismissal of HonoluluTraffic.com members’ claims because they had allegedly failed to participate in the notice-and-comment administrative proceeding.
Judge Tashima denied the partial judgement, citing that the Court could not verify the defendants’ claims.