The Superferry COULD be a good idea. But at this point, it is exactly that: an idea. Is it a good one? There is an old saying that anything worth doing is worth doing right. That is really not clear until a full assessment has been completed on the project.

As an engineer, I am well aware that 9 out of 10 "good" ideas turn out to have serious problems that are not uncovered until detailed evaluations are conducted. These evaluations are often considered inconvenient by those insistent on moving ahead quickly, but have spared -- and sometimes saved -- humankind from expensive or dangerous turkeys.

It is foolish to suggest that this project should move ahead now and that problems can be resolved as they arise. It is far wiser and far cheaper to resolve any problems in a plan than it is to fix something that has already been implemented. And often, advance assessment uncovers fatal flaws that will kill an unworkable idea outright, saving millions of dollars.

There are also numerous unanswered and even suspicious questions.

• How long has this been in the planning phase?
• What kind of community input has been sought to mitigate concerns early?
• What will this cost the State of Hawai'i (i.e. its taxpayers): $40 million plus $140 million if the Superferry defaults on its federal loan?
• Obtaining private funding, federal loans, and State funds is not accomplished overnight but normally over several years: why wasn't an Environmental Impact Statement commissioned several years ago so that it would be completed by now?
• Was this timing urgency avoidable, or dare I suggest intentional?

Further, there are a number of disingenuous statements in the Advertiser article of Sunday, February 20th attributed to Garibaldi.

For example, he is quoted as saying that there would be no net traffic gain due to the ferry since for every car arriving, one will be departing, suggesting that this is a zero sum game. In fact, 282 would drive off the ferry to points all around the island, and another 282 would drive to get on the ferry, resulting in 564 cars traveling to or from the ferry. Flux is the key parameter of interest, not absolute numbers. I am not comforted that Garibaldi's math skills are so poor or even less so that he would intentionally attempt to deceive the public.

Therefore, even though it sounds like a good idea, I am extremely susupicious of the project as it is currently being foisted on the public. There are too many questions, too much contrived sense of urgency, too many false
statements, and no insufficient reason to circumvent an EIS to feel remotely comfortable that this is indeed a good idea. Are the residents of Hawai'i being handed another turkey?

Stuart Henderson
formerly from Honolulu
Katy, Texas
281-579-9492