Work underway on King Street bicycle track project

News Release from City and County of Honolulu

Honolulu – Mayor Caldwell was joined today by Department of Transportation Services Director Mike Formby, Councilmembers Stanley Chang, Carol Fukunaga, Breene Harimoto, and Ann Kobayashi, representatives from the Hawaii Bicycling League, and city officials to kick off construction of the new King Street cycle track pilot project.

The bicycle track will be on the left (mauka) side of King Street from Alapa‘i Street to Isenberg Street.  On-street parking will be moved into the second lane from the mauka curb and the protected bike lane will be between the mauka curb and the on-street parking.  Green paint will be installed in conflict zones, such as driveways and intersections, to caution motorists and bicyclists to potential conflicting traffic in those areas.

Work on the pilot project began today and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.  At the event, Mayor Caldwell, Councilmembers, Hawaii Bicycling League representatives, and city workers applied green paint to a “conflict zone” near the Alapa‘i Transit Center.  The project will be installed by city crews and is projected to cost less than $100,000.

Last week, New York City released a report showing the impact of its 12 protected bike lane projects over the course of three years.  New York’s protected bike lanes reduced cyclist and pedestrian injuries as well as vehicle travel time while increasing bicycle ridership and stimulating economic activity near the bikes lanes.

Making Honolulu a bicycle-friendly city through the installation of bike infrastructure and the establishment of a bikeshare program, which is scheduled to be operational late next year, has been a major priority for Mayor Caldwell.  Bike lanes or sharrows were added on both sides of Waialae Avenue when it was resurfaced earlier this year.  Full-depth construction of Beretania Street, from University Avenue to Alapa‘i Street, also began today and bike lanes or sharrows will be added when repaving has been completed.

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