With Ironman coming, pedal-powered vehicles will soon be on the mind of every West Hawaii motorist. And this week, Hawaii County began extending the bike lanes along Kuakini Highway. Work slated to wrap up in the first week of October will extend the lanes from the intersection of Palani Road to Kaiwi Street.
Next up for the bike lanes: green stripes.
The lanes — which county officials say have been needed for some time and are not in response to the upcoming triathlon — should bring a measure of order to the interaction between bikes and cars at the Palani Road intersection, said Ron Thiel, traffic division chief for the Hawaii County Department of Public Works.
“Right now, it’s just a free-for-all,” he said.
Construction will continue from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on workdays and isn’t expected to lead to lane closures, but motorists should be prepared for occasional stops, according to Public Works. Cars that park along the northbound lane below Kona Brewing Co. will no longer have room to do so without parking in the bike lane, and the county will be putting up “No parking” signs, Thiel said.
Once the work is completed, the county will add 8-inch wide green stripes to highlight the bike lanes in a demonstration project extending from Hualalai Road to Kaiwi, Thiel said. The measure, popular on the mainland, was also put in place recently at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
Kailua-Kona bicyclists lauded the work, saying they hoped the 5-foot wide lanes will give a clear reminder to motorists to share the road. In the past, it hasn’t been obvious to drivers that pack the intersection that bicycles and not just cars need consideration, said Jessica Marcotte, sales manager at Bike Works.
Marcotte said she bikes the route coming home from work and has seen other cyclists almost get hit by cars as motorists doubled up in the southbound lane, trying to turn right onto Palani Road into Kailua Village.
Marcotte said she is glad there is a bike lane now to make it clear to motorists the move is illegal.
“I’ve seen people get squeezed off the highway there,” she said. “At least there’s a line I can point to now.”
The area has historically been a tricky one, with multiple entry points onto the highway close to the intersection, a rush-hour traffic crush that often packs two vehicles on one lane so people can make illegal right hand turns, and a good mix of pedestrians entering and leaving the tourist hot spots along the bayfront.
The painted lines will only go so far, said Ken Obenski, chairman of the Kona Traffic Safety Committee.
“Bicyclists need to exercise a great deal of caution to protect themselves,” Obenski said. “In encounters between bikes and cars, the bikes are always the loser. We don’t have enough police officers to make sure the cars stay in their lanes and the bikes stay in the bike lanes.”
Tina Clothier, executive director for Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii, said it’s a step in the right direction to push ahead with bike infrastructure. Cyclists approaching from the north on Kuakini at first have a broad shoulder to ride on. Then that space runs out and it hasn’t been clear that the bike now has to “take” the lane, Clothier said. The result is that bikes have sometimes run up on the sidewalk, creating conflicts with pedestrians.
The bike lanes “are going to create a safer situation, because it does get confusing when you get to that intersection,” she said.
“The village is so conducive to biking and walking,” Clothier added. “The more we create those opportunities, the better it’s going to be for all of us.”
