KAILUA-KONA — The bikes are over to the right — again.
The state Department of Transportation is wrapping up final restriping of the bike lanes on Queen Kaahumanu Highway between Makala Boulevard and Henry Street, a project which has moved segments of the bike lane back to the right side of traffic over the past few months.
Motorists merging onto the highway from Makala, Palani Road and Henry Street still have to yield, and the signs are still there. But now, they must yield only to bikes, just like it says on small, separate signs attached under the yield signs.
It’s a little confusing. Numerous motorists have been observed creeping cautiously onto the highway, not sure what to expect.
Like any adjustment on the roadway, it’ll take some getting used to, said Tina Clothier, executive director of Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii. But this is the change that a working group and numerous residents requested following DOT changes which sandwiched the bike lanes between acceleration and deceleration lanes in 2014.
“There is a little period of time when people have to stop and readjust,” Clothier said. “It’s not a bad thing, as long as people do stop and get the lay of the land.”
Transportation engineers said their initial change was in line with modern standards for bike lanes, but it brought outcry both from the motorists who had to navigate the lanes and cyclists who said they felt even less safe. A working group of engineers, motorists, law enforcement and cyclists was formed through a resolution by Kona Rep. Nicole Lowen in the 2015 session. The group was tasked with coming up with a solution. Clothier and Kailua-Kona cyclist Franz Weber were part of the group.
The changes seen on the highway now are what the group recommended, Weber said. They should help to smooth traffic flow once drivers get over an initial period of confusion, he said. Exit lanes and merge lanes still cross the bike lanes at intersections, and the bike lanes themselves jog due to the way the intersections are built, but that can’t be helped, Weber said.
“The restriping is pretty much standard around the U.S.” said Weber, who cycles the road frequently. “It’s an unfortunate design as far as the intersections being so close together, but the set-up now is probably the best thing we can do without redesigning the entire street system.”
The DOT broke the project up into segments to keep it cost neutral, bringing striping crews in when they were available. Work on the mauka side of the highway started in February.
“In trying to keep costs low we used our internal forces to complete the work,” said DOT spokesman Timothy Sakahara. “At times other priorities came up that needed attention, but the new striping is expected to be finished within the next couple weeks, weather permitting.”
As Clothier put it, hopefully the third time is the charm.
“The fiscal conservatives should be happy it didn’t cost a bunch of money and the motorists should be happy the bikes are to the right side again, where we expect them to be,” she said.
Weber said it likely won’t be possible to please all of the drivers.
“But we need to look at what is feasible and what can be done quickly, not in 10 years,” he said.
