Some big items happening in April – Safe Passing jersey, Oahu Pedestrian Plan, King St PBL Cleanup, and lots of action as the Legislature nears completion. Read on for full details and sign up for Bike Advocacy Team email list to make sure you’re getting the latest.

Safe Passing 3 Foot Jersey

Thanks to a giant advocacy push Safe Passing 3 Foot became law in July 2018 (HRS 291c-43). As part our efforts to build awareness about the law, we created a 3 Foot Safe Passing Law jersey. Check out our Facebook video :). The jersey will be first available for sale at the Haleiwa Metric Century packet pickup 4/26 and 4/27. Get yours and help us build awareness about the 3 Foot law and make our streets safer!

Oahu Pedestrian Plan meeting 4/24

The City Department of Transportation Services is developing Oahu’s first Pedestrian Plan – this will include a prioritized list of sidewalk and crossing improvements to make Oahu more pedestrian friendly. There is a lot of overlap between bicycle and pedestrian safety and the plan should make our streets safer for everyone, plus we’re all pedestrians at some point – so please come to the public meeting 4/24 to help shape the plan! April 24, Wednesday, 6:00pm Aloha Tower Marketplace, Multi-Purpose Room 3. Full details on the City’s website.

King St PBL Clean Up 4/10

The King St Protected Bike Lane provides a safe way for cyclists to travel in a busy part of Honolulu. April is volunteer month and since the King St PBL’s implementation HBL with your help has been volunteering to take care of it. So please join us for a volunteer cleanup to get it looking as beautiful as it should be! April 10th Wednesday 4:00pm for the King Street bike lane clean up. We will be working to repair the curbing and delineators. Bring some gloves and come join HBL in the clean up! Click here to sign up.

Updates as the Legislature Nears the Finish Line

The Hawaii State Legislature is nearing the end of the 2019 session and we’re still working hard on two key bills. HB757 would make Vision Zero the policy of the State and require all counties to adopt their own Vision Zero policies – beyond being a goal, this would prioritize safety first and the needed actions to make our street safer for everyone. SB663 would establish a Red Light Safety Cameras committee to come up with recommendations for the Legislature to act on next year – this is short of the Red Light Safety camera implementation that was in the original bill and what we’ve been advocating for, but it is at least a step in the right direction towards making our intersections safer. Finally, HB857, which initially proposed to ban bicycling on the Civic Center Path and thanks to an outpouring of testimony was changed to provide funding to widen the path, has died, but at the 3/18/19 hearing the Department of Land and Natural Resources testified that they will complete a plan to improve the area for bicycling and walking and come back next legislative session with a specific request to fund and build the path improvements.

May is nationally recognized as Bike Month and there is no better way to celebrate it than with the Hawaii Bicycling League! HBL will be having events every single week of the month to thank people for biking and also to encourage more people to start riding. Check out all the fun events HBL has planned below – we look forward to seeing you out there! 🙂

May 3rd – Friday 3:00pm 
Bike Month Kick Off
@Honolulu Hale (530 S King St)

Join Mayor Kirk Caldwell and HBL to kick off Bike Month! We’ll meet at Honolulu Hale to hear the Mayor say a few words on the all the hard work the City is doing to make O‘ahu truly bicycle friendly (yeah Pensacola, Ward, King ext, Punchbowl, and Bishop protected bike lanes!) AND he’ll formally proclaim May as Bike Month. This intimate event with the Mayor is limited to the first 45 people to RSVP. We’ll follow up the proclamation with a celebratory group ride down King St and back (no limit to people on the ride though!). Bring a helmet and safely functioning bike to participate in the ride, taking off around 3:45pm. We’ll have free bike valet set-up for those attending the formal proclamation with the Mayor, so no need for anyone to have to bring a lock!

Bike Valet volunteers needed, click here to help!

May 7th – Tuesday 5:00 – 8:30pm
Bike-in Biki Movie Night – Members Only!
@Bikeshare Hawaii (914 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814)

We are thrilled to team up with our friends at Bikeshare Hawaii (the nonprofit that runs Biki!) for a fun movie night with friends! We’ll start with a complimentary tour of the Bikeshare facility and then grab our popcorn and pillows for a movie showing in their meeting room! There will be air popcorn machines, but feel free to bring your own snacks (and some to share) if you’d like! This event is exclusive for current Biki and HBL members only – those that plan to attend must RSVP by 5/03/19. Registration will be capped at the first 25 to sign up! Click here to RSVP. You can also join Biki’s email list for fun upcoming Biki events and more inside scoops by clicking here!

May 5th – Sunday 8:30am-12:00pm
Kailua Keiki Helmet Awareness & Giveaway
@FarmLovers Market at KailuaTown (Kailua Elementary School: 315 Ku‘ulei Rd.)

Department of Health and HBL have teamed up to be at the FarmLovers Market in Kailua on May 5th (Boy’s Day, or Cinco de Mayo!) to provide education and FREE helmets (donated by DOH) to keiki! Children will receive a helmet fitting and get to take home a brand new helmet to keep them safe while biking. There will be a variety of other brain games and helpful tips for both kids and parents, plus other giveaways. Come down and get a free keiki helmet – perfect timing for Bike to School Day on Wednesday!

Helmet fitters needed, click here to help!

May 8th – Wednesday
National Bike to School Day
@Various schools!

Bike to School Day connects communities with many issues such as creating safer and more friendly routes for biking and walking to school, building a sense of community or school spirit, and inspiring families to walk and bike to school more often. This year, we invite you to take advantage of your event to talk about walking and biking safety for everyone. Find more information and what schools are taking part in this awesome event by clicking here!

May 9th – Thursday 5:30-7pm
“3ft Safe Passing” Working Group Meeting
@HBL Office (3442 Wai‘alae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816)

Meet at the Hawaii Bicycling League headquarters in Kaimukī to voice your thoughts about different ways that we can get the message of the 3ft Safe Passing Law out to everyone in Hawai‘i. Join the group discussion over snacks and refreshments, and think up ideas and actions that you and HBL can implement to make our streets safer for those cycling!

May 11th – Saturday 10:00am-2:00pm 

Wahine Who Ride!
@Magic Island (Click HERE for a map of where to meet!)

Calling all women (as well as lady-supporters)! Come out to Magic Island on May 11th for a pre-Mother’s Day event where we’ll enjoy the sun, beautiful beaches, bike paths, and the company of awesome ladies who bike (or are looking to get cycling)! This is our take on CycloFemme, an international event held on to celebrate women who bike – of all ethnicities, ages, bike preference. We’ll have tasty snacks provided by Blue Zones Project and refreshments, a free flat fixing clinic (for ladies only), and one lucky mom will go home with a Thule RideAlong child carrier for her bike (valued at $180), donated by Thule, and a free helmet for her keiki (donated by DOH)!

May 13th – 17th – Monday – Friday
Bike to Work Week – Energizer Stations!
Stop by one of our Bike Commuter Energizer Stations along the way to work (see schedule below)! We’ll be handing out awesome coffee (donated by Starbucks), snacks, and lots of aloha! Join HBL or renew your HBL membership and receive a sweet exclusive 2019 Bike Month T-shirt!

Energizer Station volunteers needed, click here to help!

May 17th – Friday
Bike to Work Day Team Challenge
@Your home to your workplace

Friday, May 17th is National Bike to Work Day! Share a Bike-to-Work Day group photo of you and your cycling crew to get entered into a prize drawing. Winning group receives (for every rider in your shared photo) free admission into the Honolulu Aloha Fun Ride or Honolulu Century Ride credit ($30 value/credit), free Bike Month shirt, and sticker pack! Post photos on our Facebook or e-mail to bicycle@hbl.org on May 19th. Entry must include: point of contact, group name, full name of each rider in photo. Grab your coworkers and get riding!

May 19th – Sunday 9:00am-12:00pm 
Bike to the Zoo
@Honolulu Zoo (151 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815)

There are so many reasons to bike and here’s one more – bike to the Honolulu Zoo on May 19th and get in for FREE! On top of that, HBL will valet your bike for free (meaning you don’t have to worry about locking up your bike)! The event is made possible by the City and County of Honolulu and part of their work to get more people cycling. If you want to take advantage of the free bike valet – enter at the back gate on Monsarrat Ave.

Bike valet attendants needed, click here to help!

May 22nd – Wednesday lunch
Bike to Lunch Day
@Your workplace, to lunch!

Grab your work buddies and friends and bike to lunch on Wednesday, May 22nd. And then make it a monthly/weekly/daily(!) tradition. A group of Honolulu work buddies already do this on the regular and were kind enough to share a map of their favorite places to get you started! Click here to view their lunch routes! Location – from your work to your favorite restaurant! 

May 31st – Friday 5:30-8:00pm 
Bike Month Pau Hana
@daShop (3565 Harding Ave, Honolulu HI 96816)

Join HBL and fellow bike-loving friends to celebrate the end of another great Bike Month! Come for the sweet music, tasty pupu, drinks, fun games, stimulating talk on the state of bike affairs, and good conversation with great company.  We will be starting the Bike Month Bingo Blackout game at 6:30pm so if you want to play to be entered to win a bike or prize pack, make sure to arrive by 6:30pm 😉

Pau Hana party helpers needed, click here to help!

Looking to help make Bike Month amazing for everyone? AWESOME! Click HERE to volunteer!

Other bike-related events going on from our cycling friends:

Malaekahana 40K Time Trial: May 5th (Sunday)

Pedal to the Meadow: May 25-26th (Memorial Day weekend)

Tradewind Cycling Team Sunday Spin: Every Sunday (except for 5/5)

Share Your Bike Month Pics with Us:

Check out HBL’s Facebook or Instagram! Tag us with #HBLRideAloha and #BikeMonth2019

Mahalo to our wonderful Bike Month Business Supporters!

Action Alert – Join March 28th Thursday 6:00pm at the Waikiki Community Center for an important community meeting on the Alapono project (Ala Wai bike/pedestrian bridge). We need your support to make sure the bridge keeps moving forward! 

Connecting Our Neighborhoods

Ala Wai Bike/Pedestrian Bridge (Ala Pono)

3/28 6pm at Waikiki Community Center

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 the project’s kick off meetings in September 2018, we need your continued support to make this important project a reality – join 3/28 Thursday 6:00pm at Waikiki Community Center (310 Paoakalani Ave). 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 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 3/28 Thursday 6pm at Waikiki Community Center (310 Paoakalani Ave).

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!

Previous posts

In September and October 2018, the City officially kicked off the Ala Wai Canal Bridge Alternatives Analysis with a first round of public meetings and an online survey.

In October and November 2017, this project went before the McCully/Moiliili and Waikiki Neighborhood Board.

Thank you to everyone that came out for those important meetings – 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!