Hawaii Bicycling League

Ala Wai Bike/Pedestrian Bridge – Action Alert

Action Alert – Join 9/22 or 9/24. The City is holding an important public meeting on the Ala Wai bicycle and pedestrian bridge project (called Ala Pono). Please come to one (or both) of the meetings to support!

  • Saturday September 22nd 1:00pm @ Ala Wai Elementary (503 Kamoku St)
  • Monday September 24th 6:30pm @ Ala Wai Elementary (503 Kamoku St)

We’re organizing a group ride to Monday evening meeting. Click for details and to join.

The City is also looking for volunteers to help with project surveys on Saturday 9/22 – email daniel@hbl.org if interested.

Connecting Our Neighborhoods

Ala Wai Bike/Pedestrian Bridge (Ala Pono)

The City is the (long) planning process towards building a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal linking Waikiki and the neighborhoods just mauka (the formal project name is the Ala Wai Canal Bridge Alternatives Analysis – Ala Pono). The bridge has the opportunity to create a much needed safe and protected bicycling and walking connection that will also make trips shorter – leading to more biking and walking. Many of you have already come out to one of the Neighborhood Board meetings in 2017 to support this, we need your continued support to make this important project a reality. Read on for more details.

Ala Wai bridge – what’s being considered

The City Department of Transportation Services has begun the Ala Wai Canal Bridge Alternatives Analysis (link to project website) for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal somewhere between Ala Moana Blvd and the Manoa/Palolo Stream.

 

Ala Pono project map (from City)

Ala Wai bridge – why it’s important

Waikiki isn’t just Hawaii’s tourism hub, it’s also one of Hawaii’s largest employment centers and home to some 32,000 residents. Creating safer, more direct walking and biking connection between Waikiki and mauka neighborhoods (McCully/Moiliili, Manoa, Makiki) will have a giant impact in making biking and walking a real transportation option for the thousands of work, school, shopping, and other trips between these neighborhoods. Only one of the existing three bridges into Waikiki (McCully St bridge) has bike lanes and all three bridges have high records of bike and pedestrian crashes and injuries (the data provided by the City shows that between 2012-2016 there were 17 bicycle and pedestrian injuries on these bridges). Creating a bicycle and pedestrian bridge would have the highest level of safety for walking and biking. In addition to safety, a bridge can dramatically reduce travel distances – for example, a bridge at University Ave would reduce the travel distance between central Waikiki and UH Manoa by nearly one-mile making people far more likely to bike.

Ala Wai bridge – what you can do to support

We need you come out to support either 9/22 or 9/24!

  • Saturday September 22nd 1:00pm @ Ala Wai Elementary (503 Kamoku St)
  • Monday September 24th 6:30pm @ Ala Wai Elementary (503 Kamoku St)

Next, click here to get on our Bike Advocates email list. There will be more public meetings and need for support! But with determined and organized support, we can make sure the bridge happens!

Envision it! Make it a reality!

Previous posts

In October and November 2017, this project went before the McCully/Moiliili and Waikiki Neighborhood Board. The above is an updated version of posts that occurred at that time. Thank you to everyone that came out for those important meetings nearly a year back – your involvement and support helped push this forward. Things are headed in the right direction. Please stay involved as we’re going to need a LOT of support along the way! 

Lei of Parks Family Day + Aloha Fun Ride 9/1

 

Lei of Parks Family Day & Aloha Fun Ride

September 1st

Hawaii Bicycling League is partnering with Trust for Public Lands and many other awesome organizations on the Lei of Parks Family Day. The day is designed to be a celebration the Lei of Parks – the network of bike paths that ties together some our most beautiful parks between Kapiolani Park and Downtown (click here for more on the Lei of Parks and our advocacy). The focus of the day will be on the Lei of Parks in the Ala Moana Beach Park to Kakaako Waterfront area. Our partner, Trust for Public Lands, is leading the charge on the day. HBL will organizing an Aloha Fun Ride at 10:00am and taking on one of the Passport Stations.

Event overview (from Trust for Public Lands):

Walk, bike and enjoy family-friendly activities at Ala Moana Beach Park, Kewalo Basin Park and Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park on Saturday, September 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Temporary signs, ground chalk stencils, and traffic controls will allow people to easily walk and bike through all three parks. Participants can take walking tours of historic sites and exceptional trees, get beach volleyball tips, walk with a doctor, sample coral friendly sunscreen, receive giveaways and health tips, take a keiki friendly bike ride, and practice yoga at nine “passport” stations throughout the three parks. Those who visit at least three stations will be entered into a prize drawing, including two roundtrip tix donated by Alaska Airlines tickets. Project funded by AARP.

Aloha Fun Ride:

The Lei of Parks Aloha Fun Ride will be a short 2-3 mile all ages ride along the park’s paved route. We will meet at Kewalo Basin at the corner of Ala Moana Blvd & Illalo Street. Please bring your own bike, helmet, and water bottle. The ride is free! Click here to register!

(Updated) Support Downtown Protected Bikeways – Aug. 29

Update:

Thank you to the nearly 100 of you that came out to the 8/29 community meeting! We demonstrated that these 3 bikeways are needed to make our streets safer and to enable more people to bicycle. And that they have strong community support! If you haven’t already been heard, please email your support to completestreets@honolulu.gov by October 1st.

Support Downtown Protected Bikeways!

August 29th 6:00pm
at YWCA Laniakea (1040 Richards St)

The City is planning some big improvements to our bikeway network to connect Downtown! And we need your support to make sure these become a reality!

***Join Wednesday 8/29 6:00pm at YWCA Laniakea (1040 Richards St)***

Specifically, the City is planning:

  • King St protected bike lane extension west from South St to Bishop St (we’re pushing for it to go further to Fort Street)
  • Bishop St 2-way protected bike lane from Ala Moana Blvd to Beretania St
  • Punchbowl 2-way protected bike lane from Pokukaina St to King St
  • All three are to be implemented with the repaving of the streets in the year or so

Why we need these bikeways:

  • Building our bikeway network – these 3 bikeways will be major connections in our bikeway network, enabling more people to bicycle to more places
  • Extending the crosstown bikeway spine – King St forms a crucial crosstown route and this will extend it farther west into the heart of Downtown
  • Mauka/Makai routes! – mauka/makai routes are crucial to connect people to where they work and live
  • Connecting the major employment center that is Downtown – the 3 bikeways will connect literally thousands of people to their jobs in Downtown

How close are these bikeways to reality:

  • The 3 bikeways plans are the result of an extensive public outreach and community engagement effort by the City.
    • Many of remember the series of public meetings for the Downtown/Chinatown Complete Streets in early 2017. The plans for the Bishop St protected bike lane is outcome of this.
    • Probably more of remember the more recent series of public meetings for the Urban Core Complete Streets in late 2017/early 2018. The Punchbowl and King extension plans are outcomes from this planning process
  • Please join for one more meeting to make these bikeways move forward!

Support Downtown Protected Bikeways!

August 29th 6:00pm
at YWCA Laniakea (1040 Richards St)

Walk Bike Vote

Find out where candidates stand on funding bike lanes and sidewalks? Building a network of bikeways? Prioritizing Complete Streets that safely accommodate those walking and biking? Adopting Vision Zero to achieve zero traffic deaths?

HCR Referral Contest

HCR Referral Contest

Get Your Friends to Ride & Win a Bike Trip to NYC!

Want to win a trip to NYC’s Five Boro Bike Tour?!

Just tell your friends to register for this year’s Honolulu Century Ride!!!

The Basics:

When they register for the 37th Annual Honolulu Century Ride happening September 30th, either online (at HBL.org/HCR) or by sending in their paper registration, make sure they put YOUR name for REFERRED BY to score yourself an entry into the HCR Referral Contest!

There is no limit to how many different people can put your name down as their referred by person, so start telling your friends, co-workers, family, and the world!

Each registration will gain the referred by person an entry into the HCR Referral Contest, so the more people you get to sign up for HCR, the better your chances will be to WIN!

The Prize: 

  • 2 roundtrip flights from Honolulu to New York City on Alaska Airlines to participate in the Five Boro Bike Tour happening May 5, 2019. 
  • 2 entries to the Five Boro Bike Tour happening May 5, 2019.
    • Fine print: The prize dates are fixed and the prize is non-transferable.

The Details:

  • When registering for Honolulu Century Ride 2018 or Honolulu Aloha Fun Ride 2018, the registrant has the opportunity to enter someone as REFERRED BY (this should be the person who encouraged them to ride!).
  • The registrant should write under REFERRED BY the First & Last name of the person who encouraged them to participate in this year’s ride.
  • Contact info (phone or email) for the REFERRED BY person must be included (so that we can contact the lucky individual should they be picked as the winner!)
  • Available on both paper registration and online.
  • “REFERRED BY” cannot be the person registering (you can’t refer yourself)
  • Winner will be selected at random on Friday October 5th, 2018 (the Friday following HCR).
  • Winner will be contacted by email or phone. 
  • No limit to entries.
  • As stated above, the prize dates are fixed and the prize is non-transferable.
  • Period open to entries – August 1-September 30 (HCR event day!)
  • Eligibility – Must be 18 years or older. HBL staff are not eligible.
  • No purchase necessary.

Sponsor Support! Mahalo Alaska Air!

This awesome contest would not be possible without the generous support of Alaska Airlines – they donated the 2 round-trip airfare between Honolulu-NYC!! One awesome thing about Alaska Airlines is that bikes fly for the same price as a normal checked bag! So if you want to bring your bike with you to NYC, you can for only $50 roundtrip.

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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.