The Leeward Bikeway will be transformative to lives of thousands that live, work, and play in Leeward Oahu by providing them a safe biking and walking path. HBL and thousands of advocates have been pushing for implementation as soon as possible. It’s been a long journey – planned since 1977 and since 2014 it’s been HBL’s #1 advocacy priority and we’ve dedicated tons of outreach to build what is now very solid community support. We say with cautious optimism that we are nearing success.

Focus on Phase I – The Hawaii Department of Transportation made the decision to make Phase I a separate project from Phase II. Phase I extends from the end of the Pearl Harbor Bike Path at Waipahu Depot Road to Philippine Sea Road in Ewa (by the Hawaiian Railway Society) – see map below.

Milestones – In June 2018, HDOT published the Final Environmental Assessment for project (link) – this is a major milestone that includes with it the completion of a large portion of the regulatory requirements. As of December 2018, the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 process (a law and process intended to protect historic priorities) is still outstanding. HBL is an official participant in the Section 106 and we are cautiously optimistic that process will conclude in the next 1-2 months. After completion of this, the Leeward Bikeway Phase I should go to bid and then construction in 6-12 months.

What about Phase II – In separating out Phase II from the Phase I, HDOT has announced that they are deferring implementation of the Phase II section for the foreseeable future. The reasons provided for deferring Phase II are that there are long sections of Phase II where existing utility poles need to either be moved or additional land is needed for the path to avoid them, which would require a lengthy and potentially costly land acquisition process or significantly increase the project cost for relocating utilities. HDOT also says the pre-utility issue project cost estimate of $13M is funding they do not have and based on current funding levels won’t have in future years. Phase II extends from Philippine Sea Road in Ewa (by the Hawaiian Railway Society) and Lualualei Naval Road in Nanakuli – see map below.

Continuing to Advocate for Phase II – We’re not giving up on the full Leeward Bikeway! We plan to continue to organize and advocate – we already have the support of the Nanakuli/Maili and Kapolei Neighborhood Boards, the neighborhoods Phase II will serve. We’ll be reaching out to the area legislators to request their support. We will need your support in this! Please make sure you’re on the list of Leeward Bikeway Supporters so you’ll receive our calls when action is needed.

More info on the Leeward Bikeway – See the Vision! – Click here for our page that provides you extensive information on the Leeward Bikeway. 

King St Birthday Clean Up Party!
Tuesday, December 4th
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Corner of Keeamoku & King

RSVP online or on Facebook

The King St Protected Bike Lane turns the big 4 on December 4th! To celebrate we’re having a volunteer clean up to get it looking as beautiful as it should be! Join us Tuesday December 4th 4:00pm for the King Street Protected Bike Lane clean up. The King St PBL provides a safe way for cyclists to travel in a busy part of Honolulu. We will be working to repair the curbing and delineators. Bring some gloves and come join HBL in the clean up! And we’ll cap the clean up party off with some celebratory cake.

Brief history and important life events: On December 4th, 2014 the King Street Cycletrack opened with a fittingly grand ceremony – Mayor Kirk Caldwell cut the ribbon and led the 500+ celebratory group on the inaugural ride. This was the first protected bike lane in Hawaii – it had a curb and delineators separating bicycle traffic from car traffic. It created a safe biking environment for a 2-mile stretch from Alapai St (on the edge of Downtown) to Isenberg St (not far from UH Manoa). The King St Protected Bike Lane (following the national trend, we moved from the term “cycletrack” to “protected bike lane”) was immediately popular with a big increase in people cycling on the street. The next major event was the conversion of the King St PBL into a two-way bikeway with special bike signals, which occurred in May 2015 (Bike Month!). While the popularity of King St PBL was immediately evident, the City Department of Transportation Services’ robust data collection showed the level of its success – by 2016, bicycle ridership numbers had increase by an average 94% and people riding on sidewalks had decreased from 67% before to only 5% after. King Street has seen a steady increase in ridership since then with the opening of McCully St bike lanes in January 2017 and South St Protected Bike Lane in May 2017, providing the first two mauka/makai connections, and the launch of the Biki public bikeshare system in July 2017 providing 1000 bikes across 100 stations.

November has some big advocacy items happening -Walk Bike Vote 11/6, Bike Plan Update meeting 11/14, Primary Urban Center Plan meeting 11/7, Safe Passing 3 Foot law implementation campaign, Open Streets program, and Kipapa safety improvements moving to implementation.

Walk Bike Vote 11/6

Election Day is 11/6. Before you vote, read your candidates Walking and Bicycling Candidate Questionnaire to find out where they stand on important bicycle and pedestrian issues. We asked Governor, State Senate and House, and Honolulu City Council candidates where they stand on building a network of bikeways, prioritizing Complete Streets projects, embracing Vision Zero, and other important issues. Complete info at: HBL.org/WalkBikeVote

O’ahu Bike Plan Final Meeting 11/14

The City is holding the final public meeting on O’ahu Bike Plan Update November 14th Wednesday 6:00pm at Neal Blaisdell Center, Hawaii Suite. This is a our twice a decade chance to make sure the O’ahu Bike Plan has everything we need in it to make O’ahu bicycle-friendly for everyone. Please come out to have your voice heard and help shape a plan that will guide us to a bicycle paradise. Complete info at: HBL.org/OahuBikePlanFinalMeeting

Primary Urban Center Plan 11/7

The Primary Urban Center Development Plan guides the development and public investments for the area from Pearl City to Kāhala – literally shaping our community – let’s make sure it’s a bicycle-friendly and bicycle-oriented community! The City is holding a public meeting on it November 7th Wednesday 6:30pm at McKinley High School’s Hirata Hall (1039 King St). Please come out to get involved in shaping a bicycle friendly future for Honolulu. Complete info at: www.pucdp.com

Safe Passing 3 Foot Implementation

The Safe Passing 3 Foot law (HB2215) came into law July 1st 2018. Now we need to educate and build awareness. We’re seeking your help! We are asking for your involvement in helping us develop a multi-faceted campaign to build awareness about the law and it’s importance, to include PSAs, educational materials and graphics, bumper/bike stickers, police outreach, and other items. Please respond to daniel@hbl.org to step forward to help us.

Open Streets Program

Open Streets (or ciclovias) are events that close some of our streets to cars to allow people to walk, bike, run, rollerblade, skateboard, scouter, and enjoy. Open Streets are changing cities across the country – getting people biking/walking/moving natural. We are forming a group to put together a solid plan on how we can make this happen here. Please respond to daniel@hbl.org to help.

Kipapa Safety Improvements

HDOT is nearing implementation of the Kamehameha Hwy safety improvements through Kipapa Gulch, which will include shoulders and median to create a safer highway for everyone. Big shout-out to the Mililani and Central Oahu advocates that showed up at meeting after meeting to demonstrated the community support for this project.

Join the Bike Advocacy Email – get the latest

If you’re still reading this, you should definitely be on the Bike Advocacy Team email list. This email goes out ~2 times a month and gives you latest on advocacy happenings and how you can get involved. Change takes a community – thank you for being involved, together we’re making Hawaii more bicycle friendly everyday. Sign up: HBL.org/AdvocacyTeam