Bicycle riders in town

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/...k-of-survival/

Something that's healthy for you. Oh, that won't last.

[Honoruru]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Couple of years ago, I was driving out of my condo’s garage, which has a radio-controlled gate. Another car in front of me was waiting for traffic to clear before it pulled out onto the street. I eased out behind him (before the gate came down). I eased out slowly, as I always do, because I simply cannot see pedestrian traffic on my left and right before I exit the garage onto the sidewalk. Just as the front of my car eased out onto the sidewalk, a young woman on a bicycle zigzagged and screeched to a halt in front of my car; she had to use her feet to stabilize her bike. She had scooted out behind the car that had just been in front of me.

Here’s the kicker: she had a little baby strapped onto her bike. I felt terrible as I stared into her terrified eyes, because this might be been a horrible accident. But on later reflection, it was as much her fault as mine (maybe I should have eased out much, much slower, which I now do just in case).

[Menehune Man]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Many years ago, while travelling through Waikiki on Kalakaua Ave., I almost got squished by a City Bus so then went up on the sidewalk and scootered my bike (sitting on it but just pushing on the ground - not pedaling and going the speed of pedestrians). I got a ticket from a police officer, can't remember how much.

Bummer man!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Craig, who to call to report the license number? The cops will give their usual song and dance about not witnessing the event with their own eyes and say they can't do anything about it. As usual, someone has to get hurt to get them to pursue the matter.

If not then call the company that owns that truck and report that driver.

[Da Rolling Eye]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

If a trucker ever does a stupid stunt like that take his license down (not the trailer license) as any CDL driver knows they can lose that license. That CDL is their bread and butter and losing it typically means losing their job. And we all know losing a job in Hawaii is a bad thing, especially if it's a high paying union job.

Craig, who to call to report the license number? The cops will give their usual song and dance about not witnessing the event with their own eyes and say they can't do anything about it. As usual, someone has to get hurt to get them to pursue the matter.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

If a trucker ever does a stupid stunt like that take his license down (not the trailer license) as any CDL driver knows they can lose that license. That CDL is their bread and butter and losing it typically means losing their job. And we all know losing a job in Hawaii is a bad thing, especially if it's a high paying union job.

[StinkyTheGrump]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Whew! Yea it was tough riding around Honolulu.I got hit twice by motorists,but it didn't stop me.I rode like a warrior,very aggressively,and vocally,using plenty of hand signals. I pissed off a lot of drivers who didn't know how to share the streets.I demanded respect and I think other riders should do the same.Cyclists:STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS!!

However,I was very courteous to pedestrians.

Wow, I haven't been hit by motorists yet (knocks on wood) but there was that one time when a big pavement/rock hauling truck driver tried to kill me on Nimitz. On the .5 mile section where there is no bike lane the guy was right on my okole as I was riding and then he layed on his horn for like 10 seconds so I flipped the SOB off...bad idea. He then proceeds to slowly pass me and when his trailer is next to me he starts moving the front of his truck towards the curb with his trailer following. At this point I can see him looking in his side mirror right at me as he's literally about to run me over. It gets to the point where I have only a few inches of room left and I had to try to jump the curb. I only got my front wheel over and that slowed me down and he passed me. That's when I decided that when I'm on that section I will take the lane so someone has to use the other lane if they are passing. It is way too narrow to fit a bicycle and a car safely on that section of Nimitz.

[aoimizu]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Whew! Yea it was tough riding around Honolulu.I got hit twice by motorists,but it didn't stop me.I rode like a warrior,very aggressively,and vocally,using plenty of hand signals. I pissed off a lot of drivers who didn't know how to share the streets.I demanded respect and I think other riders should do the same.Cyclists:STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS!!

However,I was very courteous to pedestrians.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

Hey, does anyone know of good biking in Kailua? My sweetie and I have our hearts set on this great studio 5 blocks from the beach, and we love biking! We even dismantled our bicycles and shipped them here. Is it cool to bike to the beach there? Will someone steal my bike if I lock it to a tree? Or keep it in my backyard? Are there any bike paths? Is it residential enough to legally ride on the sidewalks? ARE there any sidewalks?
You guys are the BEST for insight and info, and any comments on this would be really appreciated!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

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This is the first time that we have been involved in an actual collision with a cyclist, but only because on previous occasions we have been able to move out of their way. While in Honolulu, we have so often had to move off the sidewalk to avoid being run down by cyclists that we assumed, cynically perhaps, that they had the right of way.
Gillian Barnett
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

Bicyclists ALWAYS must yield to pedistrians whether they're on a: Sidewalk, bikepath or the actual roadway.

Bicyclists must use a sounding device (yelling GET OUTTA DA WAY F*CKIN HAOLE, is not one of the approved methods however), to warn pedistrians that they are approaching them on a side walk.

Bicyclists are only allowed on sidewalks in Residentially-zoned areas, and are prohibited in Commercially-zoned areas.

Both Bicyclists and motorists must give at least 3-feet of passing distance between themselves.

I take that to assume then that a bicyclist who is maneuvering past cars stuck in traffic cannot use the shoulder or the curb areas of the roadway to pass the line of cars if the pathway is less than three feet wide.

Bicyclists must ride on the right side of two way traffic but may ride on the left side on any one-way roadway.

Bikepaths are not raceways and if you should see a bicyclist or bicyclists racing along a bike path, call the police, better yet...well maybe not that's illegal.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

This is the first time that we have been involved in an actual collision with a cyclist, but only because on previous occasions we have been able to move out of their way.

This is why bikes are banned from sidewalks. As for the rude cyclist, I would shrug it off as someone who might be emotionally unstable. Normal people don't behave recklessly and then blame accidents on someone else.

Despite years of proclaiming otherwise, the City hasn't taken enough action to make Honolulu a bike-friendly place. Cycling as a viable means of transportation has been talked about for the past 30 years but very little has been done to make it happen. Opportunities to properly stripe roads and highways to accommodate cyclists have been missed repeatedly. And the "lei of parks" concept forwarded by Harris is an idiotic joke to anyone serious about getting somewhere on a bike.

[turtlegirl]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

When I go out biking, I often ride on the sidewalk, but sloooowly. There are people and cars coming at you from everywhere, but I feel safer there than on the street. The trick is to go slow, almost jogging speed, so that you can stop fast for an erratic pedestrian, or a car flying out of a parking garage.
Ugh, that's always the scariest part! I would hate to have a car not see me when its coming out of a parking garage driveway, hit me, and knock me into street traffic! Right when TheBus is coming. Ewwwww, gross!

[turtlegirl]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

I read this in yesterday's Star. Wow. What do you guys think of this?
Racism worsened bike-pedestrian crash

Jeff Zimpfer (Letters, March 14) may never have heard of a pedestrian having been hit by a cyclist in Honolulu, but it happened to me last week -- and I was on the sidewalk, as was the cyclist!

My husband and I were walking in single file on the outer edge of the sidewalk on the left-hand side of Keeaumoku between the Ala Moana Center and Wal-Mart when I glanced up and saw a cyclist racing toward me. There was insufficient time or room for me to move out of her way and a collision resulted. Fortunately, I was not hurt, as I had managed to twist my body to avoid the impact and it was my backpack that came into contact with the bicycle. My husband immediately came to my aid in time to hear the cyclist shout to me that I had seen her and so should have got out of her way! Words were exchanged between the cyclist and my husband as he tried to defend my right to be on the sidewalk; however, when she began to scream, calling us "f---ing haoles" and telling us to "go back to the mainland," we decided it was time to continue on our way -- the sound of her continuing "f---ing haole" scream following our retreating backs.
This is the first time that we have been involved in an actual collision with a cyclist, but only because on previous occasions we have been able to move out of their way. While in Honolulu, we have so often had to move off the sidewalk to avoid being run down by cyclists that we assumed, cynically perhaps, that they had the right of way.
Gillian Barnett
Victoria, B.C.
Canada

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

That stinks! I didn't realize it was so bad coming from east side. I will consider myself lucky then that I live where I do.

There are literally no safe routes for bicyclists from the urban core of Honolulu to east Honolulu. Diamond Head road is narrow as it is and in the afternoon you have to share that narrow strip of asphalt with parked cars and joggers. That puts you way out in the traffic lane where motorists cannot swerve around you because of the narrow roads along that route.

Then there's Monseratt on the other side of Diamond Head. A lot safer than Diamond Head road but still you have to deal with city buses and Keawe thorns.

Next is cutting thru the really narrow streets of Kapahulu finding your way to Kilauea Avenue. Once on Kilauea near Leahi Hospital, it's the bus thing again.

If you don't go thru Kilauea it's Harding or Pahoa Avenues that are even narrower (but less congested) but again still having to deal with city buses.

Then there's Waialae Avenue. Ever tried riding Kokohead bound on Waialae Avenue in front of Sacred Hearts Academy in the afternoon? Death is an almost certainty along that corridor in that area.

So what's left? you can attempt riding thru Palolo Valley but you still have to navigate thru Waialae Avenue near Sacred Hearts to get there up to the Palolo McDonalds and have to pop out by NAPA and it's back onto Waialae avenue near one of the major bus depots at the corner of Waialae and Kokohead avenues.

From Waialae Avenue it's fairly smooth sailing until you reach the end of the line for most bicyclists at the Waialae Avenue offramp where local Kokohead bound traffic meets up with fast moving vehicular traffic coming off the freeway. For a bicyclist that's almost like jumping into a raging river as two lanes of traffic converge into two narrow lanes with those from Kaimuki wanting to get into the right lane to get to Kahala Mall, while those coming off the offramp want to get into the left lane to go home into Waialae Nui Valley or Ainakoa valley. So yo get these two flows of traffic wanting to cross into each other's lanes and throw in a brave (or stupid) bicyclist trying to keep up with this chaos, someone's gonna get creamed in there.

All that said, Monsarrat is the safest way to get thru to East Honolulu. Monsarrat then 18th Avenue then Kilauea Avenue and the rest is a smooth ride...unless you have to continue onto Kalanianaole Highway. At that point there are bike paths going Kokohead bound but now you have to deal with those bicyclists bent on breaking the sound barrier as they race along that path.

[StinkyTheGrump]

Re: Bicycle riders in town

As traffic worsened so did my near miss incidents by city buses, police cars and errant morning commuters. I gave up bike riding and took the bus for a while, but then it seems even catching the bus meant standing in a fully loaded bus as a full-fare passenger (no student or senior discounts for this gap group middle ager).

One morning on the way to work I had enough of it and the next day I said, "F*ck the environment" and drove my BMW to work. I paid for luxury, I deserve to drive it too. Until there was a better and safer way to bike from East Honolulu to the urban core, I said saving the earth isn't worth killing myself over it.

That stinks! I didn't realize it was so bad coming from east side. I will consider myself lucky then that I live where I do.