February has been a big one for bike advocacy!
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.