2011 Housing Planning Study - County of Hawaii

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Housing and Transportation Alternatives eight percent said they were not certain 28. On this issue, commute time had almost no impact For our straightforward tradeoff question to and the majority of all commuter groups said the measure the strength of price versus a short option did not interest them. commute, results were mixed. Overall, about 46 percent of prospective movers would opt for a While commute time did not have a significant shorter commute and 41 percent would opt for impact on interest in living near the rail stations, the lower price. The remaining 13 percent were planned tenancy was influential. When not sure how they would decide. households that plan to buy their next unit on Oahu were presented with the rail station Respondents with a long commute frequently scenario, 19 percent of buyers rated this as an opted for opted for the shorter commute time. extremely important consideration, while an People who use public transportation were much additional 67 percent rated it as somewhat more likely (57%) to prefer a lower price over an important 29 increased commute time. When those who intend to rent their next unit In two different locations in the Housing Demand were presented with the same scenario involving Survey, we asked people in the market about apartments located near a rail station, 45 percent how transportation issues might affect their unit rated it as an extremely important consideration choices the next time they move. Asked if they and an equal number judged it a somewhat would prefer a unit that is closer to their important consideration. As frequent users of workplace, 57 percent of all mover households the public transportation system, it is not said "no" and 40 percent said "yes'. With the surprising that renters would be more likely to exception of non-commuter households, in which factor the rail system into decisions regarding the 78 percent said they would not choose to move location of their next housing unit. closer to their workplace, commuting time had very little influence on the results. As the rail stations are not yet in place, the prospect of them may have been difficult to When we asked about moving closer to the bus incorporate into respondents' set of housing stop, respondents were again divided. Overall, alternatives. about 50 percent of people who will move said that being closer to the bus stop was not critical to them in making their housing decisions (49%). About 47 percent said they would like to be closer to a bus stop. However, on this item, 71 percent of current public transportation users were interested in moving closer to a stop. Commuters with a commute time of 15 minutes or less were least interested in living near a bus stop in the future. With the new rail transit system under 28 Having many years experience asking questions about development, residents on Oahu will soon have options that do not currently exist, we should caution the reader against over-interpreting this information. It does an alternative to the bus. Over thirty percent represent popular opinion at this time. As we move (31%) of mover households in the City and closer to having rail stations in place, acceptance may County of Honolulu said they would like their increase dramatically. next home to be in close proximity to the light rail since the majority of households that plan to buy their next unit expressed a preference for single-family stations currently under development. About 31 dwellings and were unlikely to use public transportation, percent said "yes', 61 percent said "no", and the importance attributed may be related to the rail station, the multi-family unit, the concept of using public transportation or all of these. Hawaii Housing Planning Study,2011 Page 35 0 SMS, Inc. November,2011