HOW IT WENT:

This year we had over 80 amazing volunteers that helped us complete the O’ahu Bike Count on November 14th-16th. We counted in 10 locations over three days and counted 4707 bikes! We complete the O’ahu bike count each year to track cycling patterns on O’ahu. We can use this information to advocate and push for changes where they are needed on our great island! If you’d like to check out previous years data, you can find the 2013 results here, the 2014 results here, the 2015 results here, and 2016 results here.

DATA RESULTS:

 

 

WHAT IMPACTS RIDERSHIP:

 

Highlighted story: Our highest count location was at Kapahulu ave and pack ave; both have bike paths that are part of the Lei of the parks bike route.

 

Highlighted story: Kapolei Parkway and Geiger road had nearly 4x as many cyclists as the other ‘Ewa site. Both have bike paths, so what’s the difference? Kids biking to nearby ‘Ewa Makai Middle school.

WHAT OTHER DATA IS OUT THERE?

City before & after counts: The city department of transportation services has taken before and after counts on some of the big bikeway projects and the numbers show they’re working! The new South Street protected bike lane increased ridership by 381% from 55 before to 265 bicyclist after in an average 12 hour period (6:30am-6:30pm).

US Census Bereau – census data shows a steady read in bike commuting – a 34% increase in the last 5 years to be exact (2011-2015 – most recent available).

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Join HBL: Become a member and join a growing group of over 1,800 people who are committed to making Hawai’i a better and safer place to ride a bicycle. Check out our different levels of membership and you’ll be able to get access to tons of great information on bike laws, bike routes and even join one of our cycling workshops!

HBL Advocacy: Join HBL’s advocacy efforts to add to our voice calling for more bikeways and safer streets. Together we are making Hawai’i more bicycle friendly everyday! Get involved now by checking out our advocacy page.

 

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Our 2016 Bike Count Results:

The 2016 Oʻahu Bike Count was a 3-day event (occurring September 13, 14 and 15) to document the number of bikes traveling through some of the important cycling intersections on Oʻahu. In 2013, we successfully completed a first 3-day count, with some surprising and interesting results. Find the 2013 results here, the 2014 results here, the 2015 results here, and 2016 results here.

We had 84 wonderful counters that made the 2016 Bike Count happen. We added an additional location, the Pearl Harbor Bike Path. While this isn’t an intersection like the rest of the nine locations, we felt it was important to note how many people riding bikes passed through there as it is a very popular corridor for cyclists, recreational riders and commuters alike. Like in the past, the count was conducted over three days in the third week of September. The purpose of this count is to keep the variables consistent so that we can plot the number of cyclists in that count location over the years. The more years we can do this the more data we will have, and a better picture it will paint of the cycling trends in those particular areas!

While you’re waiting you can check out last year’s results below:

Now for the data! You can view the full data set for 2016 HERE.

Over the three days, in the ten locations, during the morning and evening count, we counted a total of 5,695 people on bicycles this year. Although this number is slightly lower than last year, we know from US Census data (the Annual Community Survey) that the number of people cycling across O’ahu, Hawai’i, and the nation is actually rising. Our Bike Count depicts a very localized representation of who is riding. More bicycle lanes in other places can draw riders away from our count locations, for example the King Street Protected Bike Lane is now a much more attractive place to bicycle so commuters may choose that over one of our counted corridors. This is not a negative thing, as we know from the City & County of Hawaii Department of Transportation Services data that King Street bicycle ridership is actually up 88% since the protected bike lane was implemented. Our September Bike Count data is also greatly affected by weather, which we saw during the very wet and rainy first day.

For the third year running, the intersection of Kapahulu and Paki had the most bicycles with 1,056 bikes counted. Kapahulu alone had a total of 715. Also following the trend for the past years we saw that the intersection of King and University came in second with 1,009 riders and Dole and East West coming in third with 840 riders.

Here’s the percent breakdown of riders we counted on the sidewalk:

• Kapolei Parkway: 93.3%
• Dillingham: 82.5%
• Geiger: 77.1%
• Kapahulu: 73.1%
• Waiakamilo: 72.0%
• Fort Weaver: 69.4%
• Renton: 63.5%
• King (at University): 58.7%
• Monsarrat: 54.4%
• Paki: 40.1%
• Paki (at Kapahulu): 47.5%
• University: 40.0%
• Dole: 23%
• Nuʻuanu: 20.2%
• Waiʻalae: 19.8%
• Hotel: 19.3%
• St. Louis: 14.5%
• East West: 6.9%

This year we counted 2,517 cyclists riding on the sidewalk and 3,138 riding on the street. Showing the riders preferring the street overall,  for the third year in a row.

We know that bicycle riders should be riding on the street, so why are almost half of them riding on the sidewalk? It’s all about the right kind of bicycle infrastructure. In places like Kapolei Parkway, where the road is in a bit of a rough condition and there is a very spacious bike path/sidewalk, riders most often choose the bike path (which would have been tallied as a “sidewalk rider”). The data have shown that where bikeways exist, people use them! The best example we have seen from our Bike Counts is that

Simply put, bikeways work. They get people riding their bikes off the sidewalk and they get more people riding. In 2013 there were almost half riding on the sidewalk on Wai’alae Avenue, but after the implementation of bicycle lanes, that figure was cut in half. This year’s results show that sidewalk riding is still continuing to decrease! We need to work together to get more bikeways. Do you live near or know a street that you think would be wonderful with a bike lane on it? Get involved! Join a Regional Advocacy Group and push for the bicycle infrastructure O’ahu needs!

Bike Count History

Why count bikes? By counting bicycles, we can provide baseline data for how the cycling population on Oʻahu is growing. We can show where people on Oʻahu are biking the most, and therefore where the most cycling improvements need to be made. A count will also show if our residents are taking advantage of existing bicycling improvements. We can also relate crash rates and high corridors of bicycle traffic to advocate for safety improvements.

Our count is based on the methodologies of organizations such as the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, and the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

If you have already signed up to participate in 2016’s Bike Count, many thanks! You can access the training material here:

• 2016 Bike Count Training Presentation
• O’ahu Bike Count Instruction
• Bike Count Form
• 2016 Bike Count Location Maps:
  • Kalihi – Waiakamilo Rd. and Dillingham Blvd.
  • Pearl Harbor Bike Path – Neal Blaisdell Park
  • Downtown – Chinatown – Nuʻuanu Ave. and Hotel St.
  • UH Mānoa – Dole St. and East West Rd.
  • UH Mānoa – King St. and University Ave.
  • UH Mānoa – Waiʻalae Ave. and St. Louis Dr.
  • Waikīkī – Waikīkī Elementary – Monsarrat Ave. and Paki Ave.
  • Waikīkī – Kapahulu Ave. and Paki Ave.
  • ʻEwa Beach – Kapolei Pkwy. and Geiger Rd.
  • ʻEwa – Fort Weaver Rd. and Renton Rd.

Optional – sign up for additional in-person training at: www.volunteersignup.org/YKCM9