By Staff Reports
(Honolulu)– Mayor Rick Blangiardi, in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Bicycling League (HBL) and the City’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS), declared May 2025 as Bike Month. Across the United States, May is National Bike Month, promoted by the League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more people to giving biking a try.
In addition, the City and County also recieved the award of “Silver Status”, for being a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Honolulu is one of 91 communities across the United States that received the Bicycle Friendly Community designation. Honolulu has moved up in the rankings since the last review cycle, which took place in 2018-2022 and during which it obtained a bronze ranking. Applications and review cycles occur every four years.
“Bike Month is a great time to celebrate and hopefully rediscover the joys of cycling on our island,” said Jon Nouchi, DTS Deputy Director. “The City and County of Honolulu is dedicated to improving our streets to create great spaces for safe cycling island wide for all users. From keiki to kūpuna, with seasoned long-time cyclists on road bikes to first-time riders with training wheels, let’s take time during bike month to enjoy our streets and paths on two wheels in our amazing weather with safety and aloha.”
Another major milestone to the City’s bicycle network, is the completion of the newest protected bicycle lanes in the urban Honolulu core along King, Punchbowl and Richards Streets. These new downtown bike lanes 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 can take advantage of new connections to shopping, work, and play.
“Opening new and improved bikeways is an excellent way to celebrate bike month,” says HBL Executive Director Travis Counsell. “Thank you to the Mayor and DTS for their commitment to safe streets. We’re excited to host numerous events and activities throughout the month and encourage people to ride a bicycle!”
Construction for these new protected bike lanes, installed by the City’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC), began in January of this year. 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. December 2024 also marked the 10th anniversary of the first protected bike lane in Honolulu, along King Street.
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.
With Honolulu’s ever-expanding bicycle infrastructure, including new protected bike lanes throughout urban Honolulu, the South Shore Trail, and the City’s acquisition of Biki bikeshare, DTS aims to promote bicycling as a healthy, affordable, and sustainable method of transportation.
HBL will also be celebrating Bike Month with a kick-off event, on Sunday, May 4th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This event will feature festivities, a family-friendly ride on the South King Street bike lane, and more! Anyone interested is welcome to join.
For more information on DTS’ Bicycle Program, please visit: www.honolulu.gov/dts/bicycle/.
For a full list of events presented by HBL, please visit: https://hbl.org/bikemonth/