Maui Bicycle Alliance Pre New Years Update
December 29, 2011
Keeping Maui on the Right Path
This came to Walter Enomoto, president of the Maui Bicycle Alliance, from some bicycling supporters a little while ago:
"Aloha Walter,
We saw a potentially deadly situation Thursday involving a bicyclist and us that scared us. A gentle reminder to your audience might protect a life.
We were driving on the Pali on the way to Lahaina when we came upon a small group of bikers riding double file. Michele slowed down and moved left to give them safe room but just as we went to pass the lead biker on the left decided she was thirsty. She reached down and got her bottle of water but when she took her drink she took her eyes off the road and veered out of the bike lane and into the vehicle lane. Michele was able to avoid her by swerving but it was a scary few seconds. Please remind your members to exercise extra caution when drinking and when riding double file. We want to keep our bike riders safe and, above all, alive!
Thank you Walter and Mele Kalikimaka,"
And A Not So Gentle Reminder That Came In:
" Good Morning Walter,
The idiot roadies are on the road again! Please see attached PDF. They are riding three abreast with no concern for motorists. These idiots are lucky I was focusing on them and not taking photos of the West Maui Mountains or the Kaanapali shoreline! You have a bad driver alert, well now you have an idiot cyclist alert. I will send you pics ASAP. Please let these idiots know I drive from Kula, Makena to Kapalua 5 days/week. I’ll be on the lookout."
So, what are the laws that apply to riding on the roads, shoulder and other areas?
Hawaii Revised Statutes
§291C-145 (b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall ride in single file; provided that where the flow of traffic is unimpeded, riding two abreast upon bicycle lanes and bicycle paths shall be permitted when such lane or path is of sufficient width to allow riding two abreast unless otherwise prohibited by rule or ordinance adopted by the director of transportation or by the counties.(emphasis added)
§291C-1 Definitions. "Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways the term "roadway" as used herein refers to any such roadway separately but not to all such roadways collectively.(emphasis added)
So while State law may ALLOW riding two abreast in a shoulder (since it is exclusive of the roadway), the question remains, is this the smartest way to go? Section of 291C-145(b) allows for riding two abreast IF the path or lane is of sufficient width to allow riding two abreast. The minimum width of a bike lane according to AASHTO and others bike facility design guides is 4 ft with 5 ft the recommended bike lane width for a single rider.
Riding two abreast in a shoulder that is NOT of sufficient width (at least 8-10ft wide) while "legal", is going to push one cyclist onto or near the solid white line or into the roadway/vehicular travel lane and create the kind of situations the above people wrote in about.
And if these were from bicycle SUPPORTERS, I can only imagine the s$%t storm I would get if even a small % of all motorists contacted me about bicyclists riding two or three abreast in or near the travel lane.
So, if you are going to ride two or three abreast, do it on a facility that can properly accommodate this type of riding. Nuff said?
Aloha and Mahalo,
Walter Enomoto
Maui Bicycle Alliance
Keeping Maui on the Right Path