KAILUA-KONA — A little more than a week ago, Pam Harlow was cycling on Queen Kaahumanu Highway near Kiholo Bay when a southbound van sped past her in close enough proximity she could have reached her hand out and touched it.
The vehicle inappropriately used the merge lane there as an opportunity to pass another driver. If the van had slid even a foot or so farther to the right, Harlow may not have been riding Wednesday. She may not even have been breathing.
“It happened so fast, there was nothing I could do,” she said. “I’ve had enough close calls that I know how quickly bad things can happen, even when you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing. Bad things still happen.”
President of Hawaii Cycling Club, Harlow spent her Wednesday participating in the Ride of Silence. The ride, a national event held annually on the third Wednesday of May, is intended to bring awareness and visibility to bicyclists and encourage safer, more level-headed interactions between those who pump the pedals and those who step on them behind the wheel.
Because in the end, we all share the road.
Held for the ninth time in Kailua-Kona, the ride that began at the Kona Community Aquatic Center around 5:30 p.m. and circled a 2-mile loop through Kailua Village was dedicated to all those cyclists who lost their lives or were injured in accidents over the last year.
One name that rang out Wednesday was that of James Sakai, who died in October after colliding with a pickup truck turning in to the airport off Queen Kaahumanu Highway. An avid member of the cycling community, Sakai died at the age of 61.
Joining in the silent ride were six police officers, four of whom accompanied around 20 riders who gathered to pedal together for a cause. Among them was Sgt. Roylen Valera.
“Sad to say, if you ask any one of us, we’ve had to respond to such terrible accidents involving bicyclists alone,” he said. “So I think bicycle safety is something we should all remind ourselves regularly about.”
Along with Hawaii Cycling Club and the Hawaii Police Department’s Community Policing Program, sponsors included Coffee Talk Riders and People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH).
Tina Clothier, executive director of PATH, was in attendance and spoke to cyclists before they embarked on the ride.
PATH’s attempts at trail-making stalled to a degree when the Hawaii County Council shot down Mayor Harry Kim’s proposed general excise tax, which would have provided funds for road improvements, including bike and pedestrian facilities.
Clothier said the next pathway likely to be built in Kailua-Kona will accompany the construction of Oneo Lane, a mauka-makai connector between Alii Drive and Kuakini Highway.
The current proposal for the connector is only roughly 600 feet long. However, Clothier said a trail accompanying such a connecting road would still be valuable. There is money for design but not construction of the road, Clothier added.
“That’s what it comes down to,” she said. “Money in the budget.”
The Hawaii County Department of Public Works confirmed the road project has not yet been sent out to bid.
Conversations are also happening at a state level about narrowing lanes from 12 to 11 feet, Clothier said, which would “slow traffic significantly.”
Why not inforce traffic laws? I would estimate easily 80% of Kona drivers have no regard for speed limits or traffic laws. Yesterday I saw a van run a red light in order to beat an ambulance through the intersection.
I can’t help but believe if the police could or would “crack down” and write a few thousand tickets a day, the culture of bad driving would change for both locals and tourists. I love and respect the police, but they are the ones to make Kona safer for everyone.
So many people don’t obey the speed limits because so many of them are stupidly low and not based on reality. Queen K highway would have a 65 mph speed limit if it was in the real world. Hinalani Street below Kona Heavens has a 45mph speed limit with no intersecting roads till you get to Ane K. The road is so steep you burn your brakes out to maintain that slow speed coming down the hill. Then we have Ane K street, one of the few streets in Kona with wide shoulders, running paths/bicycle lanes, sidewalks and very few intersecting roads yet has a 35mh speed limit that virtually no one obeys. These unrealistic speed limits encourage people to do stupid things especially if they have been stuck behind a gawking tourist or geezer driving below the speed limit.
While I’m at it, the Ane K/Hina Lani intersection is a disaster waiting to happen. There is heavy traffic on Ane K that mostly turns left on Hina Lani to go to Costco or whatever. The opportunity to make that turn is limited by cars going up and down Hina Lani and the thoughtless people who don’t signal their turn onto Ane K when going Mauka. A lot of the danger and resulting improved traffic flow would result if the County would get out their paint brush. Painting an acceleration lane going Makai on Hina Lani would make it way easier to make that left turn easing the backup on Ane K. Also painting a left turn lane on Hina Lani going Mauka for the Ane K intersection would ease the backup from slow cars making that left turn off Hinal Lani signal to Ane K traffic trying to turn left onto Hina Lani that they can safely make the turn. I know these are temporary fixes until the inevitable traffic light is installed but something needs to be done before there is a fatal accident at that intersection. Wonder if a Roundabout might be the best solution rather than another million dollar light.
I don’t understand why bikers ride as close as they can to where cars are driving? Can’t they ride like two or three feet over into the bike lane? The roads are dangerous enough without bikers exerting some sort of passive aggressiveness.