By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS), Department of Design and Construction (DDC) and Honolulu Complete Streets are advising motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists to exercise caution while traveling through the downtown area due to a variety of roadway improvements along South King Street.
On the evening of Tuesday, January 14, the City’s contractor began restriping traffic lanes — including the addition of a new protected bicycle lane — on the stretch of S. King Street fronting ʻIolani Palace, between Richards Street and Punchbowl Street.
The restriping work will continue on the stretch of S. King Street between Punchbowl Street and Alapai Street, eventually connecting Downtown Honolulu with the existing protected bike path, which begins at the intersection of Alapai Street and S. King Street. Bike lanes are also being installed on portions of Punchbowl Street and Richards Street.
The existing parking stalls on South King Street and Punchbowl Street are being relocated to the lane adjacent to the new protected bike lane. The City reminds drivers not to drive or park in the new bicycle lanes under construction.
Those wishing to park their vehicles may do so in the marked parking spaces in the lane next to the new protected bike lanes. Parking restrictions and street parking payments are still being enforced. Additionally, the bicycle lanes are still under construction and will need additional safety features before they can be opened to the public.
The new bicycle facilities, including the protected bicycle lanes, are still being constructed and will soon have the following features:
- On South King Street, new delineators — similar to the ones along the existing King Street Protected Bike Lane — will be installed along the new portion of the existing two-way protected bike lane along the mauka side of the road between Alapaʻi Street and Alakea Street.
- On Punchbowl Street, bicycle facilities between Vineyard Boulevard and Ala Moana Boulevard and will include:
- New sharrows — shared lane markings that indicate a traffic lane is shared by both bicycles and motor vehicles — in the mauka-bound direction between South King Street and Vineyard Boulevard.
- A one-way protected bike lane (makai-bound) with delineators, between Pohukaina Street and South King Street.
- Sharrows (makai-bound) from Vineyard Boulevard to South King Street, and from Pohukaina Street to Ala Moana Boulevard.
- On Richards Street:
- A one-way bike lane (makai-bound), with delineators from Halekauwila Street to South Hotel Street.
- Sharrows (makai-bound) from South Hotel Street to South Beretania Street.
Construction work is expected to run on the following schedule and is projected to be completed by the end of March:
Overnight Work Hours (Except Holidays):
Sunday:
12 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Monday-Friday:
5 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the following morning
Saturday:
12 a.m. to 9 a.m.
6 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Daytime Work Hours (Except Holidays):
Monday-Friday:
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday:
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The new downtown bike lanes will connect the urban core with the commercial, retail, and residential destinations of Downtown, Chinatown, Kaka‘ako, Ala Moana, Makiki, and major east-west corridors. Residents and visitors will be able to take advantage of new connections to shopping, work, and play.
Providing safe, protected bike lanes gives commuters more options to travel, without having to worry about parking or traffic congestion. Creating a network of comfortable bicycle facilities throughout Honolulu will reduce the dependence of personal motor vehicles, which will help reduce traffic congestion, travel times, pedestrian and vehicle collisions, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Following the installation of Honolulu’s first protected bikeway on South King Street in 2014, that corridor has experienced a 50% reduction in pedestrian-vehicle collisions. The King Street bikeway dramatically reduced the number of bicyclists riding on sidewalks and increased the awareness of drivers making turns, and bicycle traffic has grown approximately 250% since installation. The King Street protected bike lane will connect with the protected bike lane on Alakea Street once construction is complete.
The urban core protected bike lanes are part of the City’s commitment to creating Complete Streets to improve the safety of all roadway users. For more information on the downtown protected bike lanes, please visit http://www.honolulu.gov/completestreets/urbancore.
The City reminds folks to drive with caution and travel with aloha.