Bike Commuter Paths – Sharrows on Kilauea Avenue and Keawe Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI4fzVFE164THIS IS A COMBINED POSTING FROM DOUGLAS ZANG AND GEORGIA PINSKY
Douglas Zang’s Entry
The corridor along Kilauea Avenue from Lanikaula Street through Keawe Street to Waianuenue is extremely bicycle-unfriendly. Sidewalks are intended for pedestrians and four lanes of traffic are intended for cars. There is no room at all for a full bike lane or shoulder.
As a result, bicycles are forced do one of two unsafe things - either ride on the sidewalks and endanger pedestrians, or else bravely ride in the travel lane and endanger themselves.
A new concept in many towns and cities is “Shared Lane Pavement Markings” or “Sharrows.” This is a painted insignia in a travel lane that shows that bikes are allowed (in fact encouraged) to use that lane. The lane is shared by cars and bikes. Motorists will come to understand that bikes can, and should, be in this lane, and will start to respect them as equal users of the road. Bicycles will be encouraged to fully “take the lane” rather than ride really close to the curb (which endangers them from close-passing cars or by opening parked cars’ doors). Best of all, bicyclists will be following the rules of the road by riding in the correct direction in “their” lane and not on the sidewalk.
Most hours of the day, when traffic is relatively light, cars will be able to go around a bicycle in the right lane with few problems. It will take some adjustment, but there are many bicyclists in Hilo who have basically been ignored with the current situation.
The 2009 Manal of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which traffic engineers use as their “bible” for signage, traffic control, and lane markings APPROVES the use of sharrows. So the engineering community is ON BOARD. And this has been used in big and small communities alike. There’s nothing remarkable about implementing this in Hilo.
The cost is minimal – some paint.
Sharrows will improve our town’s sustainability and health by encouraging safe bike travel while also educating motorists that they are not the only vehicles allowed to use the road.
Here’s some more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_lane_marking
(the wikipedia page has a lengthy list of cities, large and small that have used sharrows)
http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/biking-in-arlington/sharrows/
(good primer on sharrows)
Georgia Pinsky’s “Bike Commuter Pathway” original entry
There are many people who live and work in and around downtown hilo. Not all of us DRIVE A CAR to work. My idea is to make one lane of any two lane streets into a bike lane. For example, along Kamehameha Avenue, there would be one lane for cars in each direction, and one lane for bikes. Same for Keawe / Kilauea, and Kino’ole Streets.
Between the rising cost of owning and operating a car, and the severe shortage of parking spaces in downtown hilo, biking to work is SUSTAINABLE and AFFORABLE.
We need a space for bikes on the roadways. The drivers of the cars appear uncomfortable with bikes on the road, it seems to make drivers nervous…. (?).
Riding on the sidewalk is sometimes an option. While a potential hazard, it can be done with care, by annoucing your presence behind pedestrians and going slowly.
However, riding on the sidewalks is a poor excuse for a Bikeway. We, the bike communters, do not want to ride on the sidewalk. We want to LIVE! We want to make it to work ALIVE!
Let’s seek solutions to Downtown Hilo’s parking problem by finding a way to encourage Bike Communters.
Example: http://bikewashington.org/commute/downtown/index.htm
EDH 2025 Primary Focus Area: Managing Growth
Secondary Focus Area: Preserving Our Environment
April 16, 2012 (last changed July 26, 2012)
How much traffic is on the street? If the peak hour auto counts are under 800 vehicles per hour in each direction, it only needs one auto lane in each direction. Consider a road diet that changes the cross section to two auto lanes and two bike lanes. If there is space a center turn lane might help with turn congestion. If there is not a lot of turning traffic, then go with buffered bike lanes.
On the mainland, I rode 25-35 miles almost every day for exercise. When I moved here, my hope had been to enjoy the roads more on bicycle. I live off of Hwy.132 and the shoulders on that highway are in poor condition due to overgrowth of grass and weeds creeping out onto the highway. I see bicyclists in danger every day, trying to share the roads with cars. I’m not brave enough to try!
I like this idea of opening up “sharrows” in Hilo. Make the roads safer for the 2-wheeled commuters and outdoor enthusiasts and I would be on my bike again.
I’m a Biker in East Maui, and it’s nerve-racking. Thanks for working to make my favorit getaway safer and “funner.”
hey guys – watch this VIDEO! It’s AWESOME!
http://youtu.be/bzE-IMaegzQ
Thanks, Georgia! I just heard about your facebook group, will check it out. My main interest as a bicyclist is serving commuter-type trips (especially people who won’t do it today, but would in the future if we made the trip more accommodating).
As for sidewalks and bikes on Kamehameha, what you suggest may be true… and I appreciate that bikes on sidewalks on Kamehameha is better than having no bikes at all…but I’d rather not promote that idea.
I worry that any bike use on sidewalks plants the ideas in motorists minds that 1) bike riders are crazy people that don’t follow the rules of the road and therefore shouldn’t receive any kind of consideration… or worse, 2) the sidewalk is where they BELONG, which is absolutely wrong. There’s also the danger of bikes crossing streets from sidewalks, which places them where cars are NOT expecting bikes, especially if the bike is traveling in the opposite direction to traffic. Bikes should ideally travel like cars, make turns like cars, follow the same traffic rules as cars, and be treated and respected like cars.
Also – the County could adopt A Complete Streets Policy. they considered it last year… not sure what the outcome was exactly…
this is a great idea! There are Sharrows along Hwy 130, but they are faded. Jessica Kirkwood has asked the state (as it’s a state hwy) to repaint these symbols multiple times, to no avail. She is told if it’s not safe to walk instead. Right, that’s the alternative to a 26 mile roundtrip daily ride made in to Hilo town…
SEEK the Facebook Group “Bike Commuters of Hilo.”
Also, the sidewalks along Kamehameha… there’s lots of room. The outer sidewalk from just in front of Cafe Pesto, down to Kalakaua. Pedestrians rarely use this sidewalk, most window shop along next to the business’. It has been suggested that this sidewalk be designated for Bikers…
THANKS for this great ENTRY to OUR downtown Hilo!