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Archives for February 2016

Advocacy February updates

February has been a big one for bike advocacy! 

Kam IV

Bikeways and Complete Streets on the Ground

The City put the final touches on the resurfacing of two streets leaving a LOT more positive than just smooth pavement. Kamehameha IV Road in Kalihi, once a four-lane road with chronic speeding issues and frequent traffic collisions and injuries, has been reconfigured with one lane in each direction, a center turn lane, and bike lanes. The “right sizing” makes room for cyclists and will mean a dramatically safer road for all (studies have found an average 29% reduction in injuries). HBL worked with Kokua Kalihi Valley, KVIBE, Kaewai Elementary, Dole Middle, Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board, and many others to make the change a reality. Stay tuned for the celebration event details.  In another one of Honolulu’s valleys, 10th Avenue now has a climbing bike lane and downhill sharrows. The restiping not only provides room for cyclists when they most need it, but the narrower lanes should help reduce chronic speeding problems. Both projects display the best of our Complete Streets policy – they were both installed as part of planned resurfacing work and cost essentially nothing.

Complete Street Roadblocks in City Council

Just four years after unanimously passing Bill 26 making Complete Streets the law, City Council is considering two bills that would roll it all back. Bill 84 CD1(2015) and Bill 8(2016) both add in additional onerous requirements and cumbersome hurdles to projects designed to make our streets safer for those that walk and bike. Please check out our page dedicated to the bills.  We’re going to need your involvement to stop these backward bills and keep our forward momentum.

We Need Your Help to Keep the Good Stuff Coming

The City will be holding a public meeting March 1 6:30-8:30pm at Kailua District Park on the planned bikeway and Complete Streets improvements on Hamakua Drive in Kailua. Please join to show support for the bikeway which will create a much needed link between Enchanted Lake and downtown Kailua. Across the island, HBL will at the Waianae Neighborhood Board March 1 7:00pm to present on cycling conditions and issues. Come out to weigh in and express your support for a bikeable Waianae.  Nothing happening in your community??? Well, get involved in making the positive you want to see happen – join our Regional Advocacy Group in your community.

Update – HBL joining Complete Streets Coalition to seek positive alternative to Bills 84 & 8

*Positive Update*

Bill 84 and Bill 8 have been tabled for the time being. Thank you to all those that submitted testimony and reached out to your Councilmember.  HBL is working with a broader group – the Complete Streets Coalition – to work with Councilmembers and the Department of Transportation Services to develop a good alternative to the Bill 84 and Bill 8; one that will strengthen our Complete Streets policy and advance the work of making our roads safer for those that walk and bike.

The rest of this post remains as posted in late February. The concerns about Bill 84 and Bill 8 remain the same and are what we will be working to ensure doesn’t end up in a future bill.

Our Complete Streets policy is making our streets safer for all!

The vision of safer streets for biking and walking is taking shape and changing our community for the better. Unfortunately, the City Council is currently considering two bills that essentially gut our Complete Streets law and will impede work to make our streets safer for biking and walking. While the people of Oahu have said time and time again they want safer streets for walking and walking, these bills will make getting these harder and slower.

Bill84_8 (1)

Bill 84 & Bill 8 will take us backward

Bill 84 CD1(2015) and Bill 8(2016) are not currently scheduled for hearings and therefore no testimony is being accepted. They may be scheduled for hearings 3/2/16 and 3/3/16, respectively. In which case we will need lots of testimony. Please join the Bike Advocacy Team to receive alerts.

Why Bill 84 is so bad:

Bill 84 CD1 (2015) would essentially REPEAL the fundamental part of our landmark Complete Streets law – that every project should take every opportunity to make a street safer for walking, biking, and driving.

In 2012, the City Council unanimously passed Bill 26 making it the policy of the City to strive to make all of our streets safe walking, biking, and driving. At the core of the Complete Streets law is that “every transportation facility or project, whether new construction, reconstruction, or maintenance, provides the opportunity to implement complete streets policy and principles”. This is crucial to making our roads safe for all users in timely and cost efficient manner.

Bill 84 CD1 would remove this fundamental Complete Streets approach for many of our roads by saying that we will NOT consider Complete Streets on any project unless the Complete Streets improvement is expressly noted in the budget.

When we repave a road is the easiest and cheapest time to make it safer for biking and walking. However, we don’t include the streets that are going to be repaved in the budget. This means NONE of repaving projects would be allowed to make any bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Why Bill 8 is so bad:

Our Complete Streets law requires that a checklist to used on every project to ensure that bicycle and pedestrian issues are being addressed wherever possible. This step in the process of thinking about those that walk and bike is essential to ensure we take advantage of opportunities to improve our streets (like with Kamehameha IV Road).

Bill 8 (2016) would require every project’s Complete Streets checklist be brought before the City Council for their approval before the project can receive any funding. This would translate into literally thousands of projects being brought before City Council, which would mean delay and many projects simply moving forward without any Complete Streets improvements – the exact opposite of what are Complete Streets law was intend to do.

Your role in the effort!

Bill 84 CD1(2015) and Bill 8(2016) are not currently scheduled for hearings and therefore no testimony is being accepted. They may be scheduled for hearings 3/2/16 and 3/3/16, respectively. In which case we will need lots of testimony. Please join the Bike Advocacy Team to receive alerts.

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3442 Waialae Avenue, Suite 1
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
Telephone: 808-735-5756
bicycle@hbl.org

HBL’s Mission:

To enable more people to ride bicycles for health, recreation, and transportation through advocacy, education, and events.

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