In an April 3, 2008, Hawaii Reporter editorial entitled "Dr. Prevedorous - Odd Man Out" by Keith Rollman, an appointee of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, penned an insulting and personal attack against Dr. Panos Prevedourous, a respected University of Hawaii transportation engineering professor who volunteers as the president of the Hawaii Highway Users Alliance.
What set Mr. Rollman off? Apparently, Dr. Prevedourous had the audacity to disagree with fellow transit panelists and refused to rubber-stamp the mayor's plan for 20th century steel-on-steel rail transit in Honolulu.
Instead, Dr. Prevedourous recommends a 21st century bus rapid transit / HOT lanes solution that will serve more people, more effectively, and at a lower cost than rail.
Mr. Rollman could not debate Professor Prevedourous on the merits of his
argument for a more effective transit solution than rail. So instead, like
a seasoned politican campaigner, he did the only thing he could do: he took
the low road and attacked the character of an honorable man.
In doing so, he alleged a number of false and misleading statements about Dr.
Prevedourous, the Hawaii Highway Users Alliance and its volunteers, and the
American Highway Users Alliance, a 75-year old non-profit association of
which I am President.
For the record, almost every word of Mr. Rollman's characterization of my group
is a lie or distortion. We represent a very wide community of highway users
and businesses that care deeply about safety and mobility and we are
certainly not a partisan group.
Throughout the country, we are active in promoting mobility in urban areas as well as suburban and rural areas -- we do not see them as Democrat or Republican as Mr. Rollman apparently does.
Several of the "members" that Mr. Rollman claimed are in the American Highway Users Alliance are not. Yet hundreds of associations and businesses are, including many AAA clubs throughout our country.
We are proud of our motorist advocacy efforts and our strong working relationship with the Congressmen and Senators who serve on transportation committees in Washington.
Just last week, we held a members meeting to receive briefings from three Democratic Congressional staffers who we work with on highway and bridge issues.
Together with them, we plan to help get the word out about
next year's critical national highway bill -- legislation that will fix our
nation's failing bridges, save lives by fixing dangerous roads, and combat
the congestion that kills economic growth, destroys quality-of-life, and
pollutes the air.
It may shock Mr. Rollman, but we happen to be extremely disappointed in the
Bush Administration's budget for roads and bridges and have been succesfully
working with both sides of the aisle to oppose it.
No doubt, Mr. Rollman would also be stunned to know that both Al Gore and his father were key speakers at our 1996 event celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System.
To sum up, Mr. Rollman should have checked his facts before posting his silly
message. As a public official, he should have known better than to try to
defame and discredit people and organizations he clearly knows little about.
As a bureaucrat who is supposed to listen to the city's residents, he should
listen for a change to Dr. Prevedourous' intelligent dissent.
Paying attention would save Hawaii's taxpayers a great deal of money while providing the
excellent mobility and high speed bus rapid transit that they deserve.
Gregory M. Cohen is the President and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance. Reach him at mailto:GregCohen@highways.org See more at http://www.highways.org
