Infrastructure
Much like the rest of the U.S., Hawai'i's infrastructure can definitely do with some upgrades. There are many areas that have gone unpaved for years. Other areas need repaving that have been decades overdue. We've had rolling blackouts and our power grid is old to say the least. Although we are supposed to have amazing water quality, what good does that do if the pipes degrade it by the time it gets to your home? We need to rethink the whole thing.
Upgrade & Innovate
The handling of our states infrastructure is no small task. Scientists and engineers of all types work on the issues that we have. And there certainly is no easy answer or even one answer to solve them all. It is very expensive to do major infrastructure overhauls and yet it must be done.
The city and state have made some efforts in ensuring that our roads get redone and maintained. You can see it in certain areas as the work progresses. But as new technologies come out our outdated methods and tools become more and more obsolete.
It is about time that we caught up with other areas of the world and started to use innovation and field test new things here in Hawai'i, such as permeable roads, new construction methods, new construction tools, decentralized power systems, water purification and distribution systems, and energy production from our water.
One curious thing that is being done all over, not just in Hawai'i, is how we force our pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists all to compete for right of way on the streets. Even with the use of bike lanes and sidewalks, when it comes time to cross the street, very often, if your not waiting on one, your waiting on another.
Denmark has done a wonderful job of innovating solutions to these types of problems and I believe that the answer to shortening our traffic and making commuting more enjoyable for all, lies within countries or states that have applied solutions to these very issues.
We have all sorts of issues here with our infrastructure. From parking, to traffic, to an old grid and old pipes underground. Many of our systems where never really designed to take the future into consideration. There is little resiliency in our systems and most are vulnerable to many types of disruption. My goal as Mayor is to revamp all of our infrastructure in order to make all of Hawai'i more resilient and adaptable to the changes the future is bound to bring.