I couldn't get over the feeling that Honolulu has the heart of a bike city that's buried inside the chest of a car city. Good to see the progress that has happened, and hopefully more improvements can come!
*Travis counsell is the last person you want to take advice from. He took down a successful bike business and sold it while using mom and dad's money who both work in the east coast scamming people with insurance. Remember to ask him how he uses daddy's money to live in the island*
Honolulu native here, it is a very old city built around communities but car culture has dominated. People actively hate both bike infrastructure and trains. 😢
Honolulu stopped building bike infrastructure because they ran out of money. They blew their entire transportation budget on a $6.4 billion dollar rail project. Now they have no money anything else, especially bikes.
@@Shifter_Cycling This is just further cementing the fact that the pain/struggle outside of a car is real. Your deeds will forever be appreciated in our war against car dependency and towards more micromobility.
@@Murillos1 Humans are #SocialAnimals, some less so. I have the option to #walk a bustling compact city or go to the deserted suburbs. And believe me, suburbs are depressing. Then the #bike comes in and gives me wings. This may sound #subversive in North America, but we need options 😜
@@Shifter_Cycling been to Bali and its also hostile to cyclist also this video makes me ask if there is any good bike friendly tropical island city at all
There's nice leisure riding in Singapore (PCN comes to my mind), absolutely lovely. However hardly anyone seemed to ride a bike for transportation though, even though drivers are courteous, nearly as courteous as Swiss drivers. I guess the subway is simply too great, too clean, too ubiquitous, Singapore is basically transit heaven. Cyclists may use the bus lanes but, since public transport is awesome in Singapore, there's a near endless stream of buses. But they are Euro 6, so that's excellent. Apparently (may be?) there's a helmet law for riding on regular streets but I only found out after I left.
It's because all the local people work tourists jobs in the city but have to live outside the city because cost of living in Honolulu is too high and local people can't afford it with their tourism jobs. The tourism industry in Hawaii is pretty toxic. So is rich people driving local people to the brink of extinction.
If tourists came to Hawaii to ride bikes there would be better biking infrastructure. I'm fairly convinced the infrastructure is designed to make it difficult to get out of Waikiki because that's where all the tourism business is and the business owners want people to spend money on their stuff, not leave Waikiki and spend money elsewhere.
@@wisetibetanmonkey1624 key west is flat and 1/30th the size of Oahu hahahaha. Oahu Is not a small island, most people live 20 or more miles from work. Sure they can build more bike lanes in town, will that help locals? Nope, not really. It will help tourists and wealthy people who already have very walkable neighborhoods because the core of honolulu is walkable.
Have you ever been to honolulu? It's a very walkable city. If your wealthy or a tourist you can easily walk around honolulu without issue. However most locals live outside the city, and drive 20 miles or more to work. Building bike lanes in the urban core won't actually help the people who will use them. Sure it will make things cooler for tourists and rich people who can live in the urban core. But will it help those who live 20-30 miles away on the west side or Central Oahu? Nope. Will it help those who live in Kailua or kaneohe who have to travel through mile long tunnels through 4000 foot peaks to get to town? Nope. Oahu isn't flat amsterdam or Singapore. It's a decent size island with mountainous terrain.
YES IT'S TERRIBLE. I went to high school near Honolulu and honestly, biking is really really scary on Oahu in general, even if you get a superbike that can go 30 mph, most people drive to bike somewhere nice. Overall, Oahu needs help to make other modes of transit safer, and helping bikers and pedestrians will ease congestion a lot.
When I went to Hawaii recently my biggest surprise was just how many people biked, even in the worst of conditions. At one point we went through a narrow pass between two steep hills, barely big enough for two lanes, no shoulder at all, full capacity, and someone was biking on the inch and I mean literal inch, of road available, they might have been leaning a little bit away from the road to avoid being hit. If Hawaii is able to build even the barest passable biking infrastructure, I suspect that it will quickly become the biking capital of the US.
Cost of living is extremely high here, and many people can't afford a car (over 17% of households don't have access to a car). Public transit is awful here, so for many people (myself included) biking is basically our only option, even though it's extremely dangerous.
@@Treviisolion Thanks. I hope so too, but the progress here is extremely slow and planned improvements are often vetoed by politicians over 'traffic concerns'. I take comfort in the fact that at least I won't be living here forever, once I get my PhD I'm out (I'm a PhD student at UH manoa, which is the only reason I live here).
Thanks for getting in touch with the Hawaii Bicycling League. We really do have the right ingredients to be an awesome bike city, with people working from multiple angles to increase our liveability. Come back in a few years and let's review!
Coincidentally, Strong Towns just released a podcast episode about Honolulu. It’d be interesting to see how the Hawaiian islands would have turned out without the import of suburban planning, especially on such a unique landmass that does not lend itself to the same cookie cutter style of construction.
I don't mind mixing with traffic, but riding next to parked cars makes me cringe. All it takes is one person opening their door to send you to the hospital. Ironically, I live in a suburb with NO bike infrastructure and aggressive drivers, and I leave there to go riding with friends every week in downtown Detroit, which is becoming quite nice for riding.
Or the morgue. Someone in my immediate neighborhood was killed a few years ago after someone doored them, and they went under the wheels of a garbage truck. :(
I grew up on the north side of the island (in Kahuku) and one of the best things they ever did between my town and the neighboring one was make a bike path connecting our two towns. The majority of the streets don't have dedicated bike infrastructure, but they are usually calm enough where biking is a great option. I would ride down from my house to the local university all the time to research at the library or just hang out with friends. I definitely wish more of the island was bikeable, and had better transit too. Hopefully the rail brings even more walkable areas to the crowded streets downtown.
I just rode in the Honolulu Century Ride over the weekend and saw a fellow cyclist hit a car. Car pulled in front of them despite having coned off bike lanes here. It can be very dangerous. Also, even if that wasn’t an issue, cycling is hard as a transportation option because despite all the progress with protected bike lanes, we’re still lacking in serious bike parking. I recently ordered an ebike for my commute, but now I’m considering cancelling the order because of the lack of sufficient bike parking at businesses like grocery stores or cafes where I might want to patron while commuting. We’ve made a lot of progress since the King St bike path in 2014, but we still have a long way to go.
So TRUE! I live on the south side in Ewa Beach. I used to commute to Palolo Valley for work. Yes I was the only one who did that. Because the infrastructure is not there. Luckily I was a bike racer so I could speed thru difficult paths. Lived here my whole life and I'm glad you showcased the city in the state I live in. I dislike city cycling, thus I created the only non city group ride out in Kapolei called the "Sunday Morning Coffee Jam." Kapolei is quickly becoming the 2nd city of Oahu with many state offices being built there instead of Honolulu. Anyhoo, thanks for the showcase.
I was born and grew up in Honolulu (and the Windward side of the island) and somehow still turned out to be a life-long cyclist (I'm over 70 now and living in Reno). Cycling in Hawai'i is horrific, where, as you say, it should be a paradise. The mentality of residents in Hawai'i has to be taken into consideration. I'd say it's closest to "fatalistic", partly due to culture, largely due to horrible government. The mentality extends to a host of problems, that see little to no progress (and regress in some areas) over my 7 decades. Every time I return home to visit friends and family, my heart is heavy: more cars, more congestion, more environmental damage, more fatalism. So heavy that I've got to hop on my bike and go for a highly dangerous (and altogether unnecessarily adrenaline-inducing) ride!
I visited Honolulu fairly recently and was unpleasantly surprised about how much traffic there was an how bicycle and pedestrian unfriendly it was. Why does an island have so much traffic?! We ended up taking an Uber a lot because there was no fast and easy transit option from the airport to Waikiki. Walking around Waikiki was ok but walking in other areas felt very unsafe due to heavy traffic and poor infrastructure. And we didn't even try bicycling. Tourists don't want to have to rent a car or use Uber (and I'm sure many of the locals don't either!) There really doesn't need to be so many wide one way streets with space for nothing but cars!
I grew up in Hawaii and also did some biking around the city of Honolulu in my years living there. One of the saving graces about biking in Hawaii without great infrastructure is the aloha and respectfulness of drivers to cyclists. Very laid back compare to the dangerous cities in the mainland states! I think this may be overlooked by some city bicycle infrastructure rankings. Thanks for your videos! Really enjoy them. Aloha!
As someone who lives in honolulu and bikes as my main form of transportation (I can't afford a car) this has not been my experience, at all. On the contrary, I've found drivers here to be far, far more aggressive and reckless than I am used to, having grown up and regularly biked on the mainland (specifically, Minnesota). In particular, people speed like crazy here, and get really, really road-ragey if they think you're going too slowly. I've had people honk at me for refusing to run red lights, not to mention the time someone swerved into the bike lane in what could have only been a deliberate attempt to hit me...
Yes - I live here, although not in Waikiki - but bike amenities are sadly lacking. Despite the best efforts of the HBL, The Bicvcling League, improvements are slow and a pain. I live in Wahiawa and ebike to Mililani to swim and shop several times a week, but even that involves mostly highway riding. Travis is good people.
If you're interested in continuing to explore the er...*varied* (but learn-from-able) bike experience, there's a weekend in Houston with your name on it.
If you ever decide to come back in the US to bike, I suggest visiting Portland. Definitely a top-notch bike-friendly for a mid-sized major city in the US. Kind of Amsterdam-esque bike city if you ask me.
Even the separated bike lane of the spine looked fairly narrow for a 2 way lane especially if you get cargo-bikes or trailers using it. Look at the overtake at 3:36. I am not sure what width it is or what the intended peak usage is - but it looks narrow. I would be more happy with 3m minimum - for a 2 way lane - as the spine. At places it looked a fair bit less than 2m because of the horrendous gutters.
I agree. I think the rule of thumb should be a bike should be able to comfortably overtake WITH oncoming traffic. As you say, that puts it in the 3 to 3.5 metre range or the width of a highway lane. This also allows for larger cycle types and conversational cycling with people riding side by side when traveling together.
Some of the bike lanes here are less than 2 feet wide. It's really bad, especially because bikers are legally required to use bike lanes here, so you have no choice but to use them, even when they're extremely dangerous.
Outside of the urban core, there's almost nothing except some paint, and we all know paint is not infrastructure. I live in Pearl City and commute on the Pearl Harbor bike path. It's useful for me but lacks a lot of useful connections, feels very neglected, and could use a repaving.
I grew up in Honolulu and rode my bike 15K miles per year in the late 1960's. However, I cannot make myself ride in Honolulu. I do still ride in Maui and the Big island,
Have a friend who was knocked off his bike twice in Honolulu. Have a cousin who arrived home in tears after nearly being run over in her moped. Have seen the blanched face of a biker competing for space at night on a narrow road after my rear view mirror after missing him by inches. The island is 17 miles from north to south with 900k plus residents.
Here right now, and probably passed you sometime on the street in the past few days (yes, on a bixi bike). OMG the proliferation of one way streets, and I recognize those terrible corners.
We ALWAYS rent bikes in the cities we visit. We spent Christmas 2022 in Honolulu - so just after you filmed this - and found it to be terrible for bike riding. The bike infrastructure is sparse and what we saw, it was easily one of the worst that I've ever experienced in a modern city. We rode the same areas that you showed and many other areas over eight days. There are so many things to love about Hawaii, but bike riding is not one of them.
I lived there when I was a kid in the 70's. This was such a treat to see your video. Thank you! Seems to me bikes should be an integral part of Hawaii.
Oahu has a halfway decent bike path running parallel to 99 highway, it just switches sides and is broken up into pieces sometimes, used to ride from Waipahu to base on that path.
You took your life into your hands. I’ve lived in Hawaii for 30 years and gave up riding my bike 10 years ago, because no one pays any attention to anything smaller than a car. The town is filled with Mr. and Mrs. MaGoos…the two way bike lanes on King Street intersected with driveways is just madness…I want to move to the Netherlands for many reasons, one of them NEVER having to drive a car. EVER.
Since it's construction 8 years ago, there has been a single fatality of a cyclist on the the King St bike lane. I've been riding in town for 5 years now, and I definitely notice that the drivers - while far from perfect - have gotten better about checking for bikes.
It's pretty easy making a bikeable city when you live in one of the most flat countries on the planet. It's also easy to build rail infastructure when you are not 3000 miles away from materials needed for such infastfuture hahahaha. If only hawaii and other islands were this lucky.
@@aaronkamakaze2967This is a lot of bullcrap. Being flat has almost nothing to do with it. It’s a conscious planning decision. Being 3000 miles from materials hasn’t exactly hampered Honolulu’s urban development given the preponderance of 40 story towers.
If you don’t mind riding on the sidewalk for some portions of your urban Honolulu route then it’s workable. Very short rides like errands are also ok. But for a regular commuting on the road exclusively, that can be dangerous.
I'm a month late to this so you probably won't see this, but thank you so much for doing this video. As someone who uses a bike as my main form of transportation because I basically have no other choice (I'm a broke PhD student, and I can't take the bus because I need to be on time to my recitation sessions and classes, and walking is just as dangerous as biking, at least for my commuting route because of missing sidewalks), this is a major problem for me and I often feel like no one listens or cares. I'm worried that I'll die here and nothing will change. I've already been hit by a car once in the two years I've been here, and I've had so many close calls I've stopped counting.
The worst part, for me, is that no matter how dangerous the bike lanes are, we're legally obligated to use them. Even if they're less than two feet wide, next to 9 ft wide car lanes (meaning that there's like 4 inches between you and passing cars, even in the best case scenario)
I would really have liked to see some acknowledgement that car-dependency in Hawaiʻi cannot be separated from colonialism, the continued US military occupation, and the displacement of the Indigenous Hawaiian people. Car dependency is an attack against the climate, the health, and the economic well-being of the true owners and custodians of the island, and that story needs to be centered.
Great video. Visiting tourists from other countries not familiar with driving in the US certainly adds a safety concern here on Oahu. Its getting better and hipe to see it continue to progress. Love the positivity.
When I lived in Honolulu, I bike-commuted from Waikiki to the University of Hawaii/Manoa. Very stressful... only lasted about 5 months. This was back in 2018. The start of my commute is where he begins this video.
Thanks Tom, this is great. Honestly, it's another version of Auckland NZ where maybe the cycling is even scarier. Seemingly lots of laid back people and it can have that warm sunny feel (not at the moment LOL) but whew jump on a bike, and pretty soon you wish you hadn't. Great to highlight the importation of the American Surburban planning of the early 1950's... yep Aucklanders can relate to that, big time.Cheers
Currently on vacation in Rome; just did a 3 hour e-bike tour of the city last night. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. Rome is very autocentric; has little in the way of cycling infrastructure and the citizens have a "give zero f****" attitude. Add to this the throngs of tourists and narrow twisty streets, competing for road space as a cyclist was a challenge. In the end, the only successful strategy was to adopt a similar approach: Push yourself into the road space needed forcing all otherwise users to acomodate you. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the chaos so much, I've booked a 2nd e-bike tour in Rome. I forgot to mention, the 1st tour was a nighttime tour as well, and allowed me to see 10 major attractions in 3 hours.
I live in Hawaii right now and I ride a hybrid Trek FX3 to work regularly not downtown Honolulu. It is terrible as far as safety concerns. Every thing from the road conditions to the random construction sites. But, its still fun and feels amazong
In Kauai, Hawaii, they have a separated road system just for biking and walking. I was very impressed and I could ride just about to any shop with just a bike.
Very enjoyable video. I think Honolulu could learn a great deal from cities like Sevilla, in Spain. They transformed their city in less than five years and now it is exemplary in so many ways.
Air quality in Honolulu can be absolutely appalling. I literally gagged at one point. Many people drive enormous SUVs for no apparent reason. Anyone who lives there ever talk about that?
51 y.o. and I’ve lived here my whole life. Been biking all the streets you showcased for 40+ years. I don’t think it’s that bad . I guess I don’t know any better 🤷🏻♂️
That's great to hear. I think most cities have something to teach us, so I'm glad to hear you got something out of this. Thanks so much for the support!
I found my city (Erie PA) rated at #51. I’m kind of amazed by that. We’ve got a few mixed use paths, and two painted bikeways. Lots in the works though.
Maybe it's your traditional urban street grid. Being unfriendly to cars is half the battle to being friendly to everything else. A city with no bike lanes but good streets that physically limit cars to 15-20 mph beats a city with crappy bike lanes any day.
I used to live in Waikiki and bought a bike which I used maybe three times before it languished in storage, mainly because cycling was terrifying (this was 2007-2011).
I took my road bike to Oahu several times. Did Tantalus drive a couple times. Riding in Honolulu is like riding in any city - mixture of not bad routes to awesome rides by the ocean. Rode from Honolulu out past Hanauma bay. The last couple times, we stayed at Kailua - each morning I would ride up to Makapuu lighthouse. I tell anyone who is on a bike to remember that they are invisible. Then do everything you can to be visible - flashing lights front and back, loud music playing from a JBL water bottle sized speaker. I learned that from a guy that was riding up and down the Makapuu lighthouse trail - you always knew he was coming and no bell needed. I love Oahu riding!! I like your Frost Bike book - I "pioneered" winter riding in 1982, 1983 in Saskatoon.
That's great if you're a recreational cyclist. But some of us use biking as a form of transportation because we can't afford anything else (and can't afford the risk of being late if we take the bus), and for us, the situation here is horrific.
Thank you for covering this, perhaps someone with influence in the city will gain a perspective on the importance of building a bike network to combat the traffic congestion. I can see that not much has changed. I grew up there starting in the 70s and 80s. There was a very hardcore bike culture then built around young freestyle BMXers and skaters in the 80s that I was part of and we all relied on bikes or skateboards to get around everywhere. Shout out to our hangout Bikefactory (not sure if there's still around, but I think I saw them about 10 years ago). People then (as much as now I'm sure) rely a lot on sidewalks, as bikes aren't given the proper space or respect on the road. You have to be a skilled and saavy rider to make it your only form of transportation and not get seriously injured. I was hit twice in all those years, both times in the crosswalk at low speed. Fortunately I wasn't hurt badly. I found your channel recently as I contemplate bike commuting again. Thanks for the content, keep up the great work!
Two visits there in my life. Enjoyed both. I was ten the first time in 1974, and 21 the 2nd time in 1985. Noticed the costs of things the 2nd time for sure especially beers going out. It does seem kind of backwards with all the car jamming combined with the numbers of people, and that at the same time all bikes and all scooters I think too would make a pretty massive difference for quality of life. A guy can't help but want some kind of sports car there after watching all eight years of "Magnum P.I", but of course that doesn't preclude being on a bike lots more often either.
Not to mention our very high pedestrian death rates. The infrastructure is trash for all forms of transportation honestly. It’s sad to see so much wasted potential.
I have to admit, I just never ever thought a video about urban cycling in Honolulu was going to be a thing on Shifter! Well, certainly not from someone who lives in Calgary!! 😅 But why not. Make urban cycling videos while the sun shines! ☀️
I grew up riding BMX and later track bikes on the east coast. Through some life choices I ended up in Hawaii and chose to stay here. Still ride my track bike all over the island. And I gotta say, riding on southern Oahu (particularly HNL) is some of the most intense riding you will ever do anywhere in the US. You get the tourists who don't know where they're going (and many who don't speak english), combined with the locals who want to get around the tourists, combined with pedestrian traffic, city busses, constant construction. I would compare riding here to riding in a smaller NYC or SF, just without proper infrastructure. But its getting there, slowly.
Sounds about right. The "The Master Nike Plan" has been around long enough to see a couple of generations retire. They've been talking about connecting the PH bike path to the Ewa Beach one since King Kamehameha was a kid.
For those who wanting better bike infrastructure on Ali Wai Blvd, the city is hosting a meting about putting in protected bike lanes on Oct 26 at 6pm HST on Zoom: www.honolulu.gov/completestreets/waikiki
@Shifter , really liked this video, but the "The spine of a network and the meaning of 'mauka to maki'" part of the video, was a little confusing when the narrator was taking about street intersections without a map of reference to see where the streets were in Honolulu.
Hawaii's populated area just is not big enough to support cars, your working with 120 miles of just land, then like 80 miles or less of populated land, break it down further with connected community and you've got like 50 miles to work with and that is the entire state of Hawaii, all its islands with only 3 of them housing connected communities. Which that breaks down to 12, 6, 3, 28 miles chunks. I can see cars being used to get to the more remote locals, but thats it, the daily commute and inner city traffic should be bike and bus focused.
Not as bad as biking in any south east asian country. I bike to work sometimes here in the philippines, many people do. We are always right next to big trucks and bus running 60kmph on a narrow road lol, and thats just normal for us. Other countries have it good, just some more roadwork and you can have a bike friendly city. Our cities here dont even have zoning or housing regulations. Just build whatever wherever. Thats why the streets are always crowded and dangerous. When i get an opportunity, i will get out of this place and live the rest of my life in a peaceful farm or something.
Im a former cancer patient who was diagnosed when I was 7 or 8 years old so balancing on a bike was really out of the picture then. Now, Im all cancer free and have just re-learned how to ride a bike, especially on side walks but I usually just stick to the king street bike lane. However, I never noticed the pensacola bike lane because google maps hasnt updated their street view yet
I rode a lap of Oahu, Honolulu itself wasn't wonderful but found the drivers on the coast road were great. Enjoyed the Pearl Harbour on the way back into Honolulu but then got to a dire semi-industrial area which was horrible.
The idea that weather is the biggest determinant of biking really needs to die. I mean, car would be undriveable in any city with winter weather if cities didn't spend literally millions on helping them keep driving, usually within hours of any snowfall. Hell even walking would be unmanageable if everyone wasn't required to clear snow off their piece of sidewalk. It's always infrastructure that is the difference. Always.
I'm very competitive when riding my bike, my bike is an xc But when I saw this channel shifter, I realized that I can enjoy riding my bike casually, not as fast as before, but the fun is different from the simplicity only when riding a bike, there is no one before you, you should just enjoy it, this day, this new day.
I lived in Honolulu from 1998-2002 and I was hit twice during that time by drivers while riding my bike. Nothing serious (I did get a tacoed rim in one incident), but the bike infrastructure was non-existent back then.
Sounds like Hamburg. You got areas with like nice bike lanes and then you got places where the painted on side lanes, cross right turn lanes and then just disappear into a big multi lane intersections.
Honestly, a lot of German cities can be like this. I think it's down to a general lack of thorough concepts to make the cities more bike-friendly. On the other hand, I believe some places have realized that they need to increasingly accommodate people that bike which may lead to better infrastructure down the line. Similar issues can also be seen with transit and walkability, although there are plans to improve.
Your very focused on the waikiki area and Honolulu is way bigger than that. I went to school there and had no issues biking around, confidence in yourself, and your ability help. Biking while distracted (filming) doesn't help anyone. Maybe a gopro attached to the helmet is better way forward.
As someone who lives in New Orleans, tourists driving make every bike ride more dangerous. They don’t know where they’re going and aren’t look8ng for bikes. They love to drive in the bike lane, and most importantly, are drunk.
I hope in the future there be a bike road from the west side too anywhere from the island. Not only in Honolulu long rides and lanes that are safe sounds like fun.
I first went to Honolulu in 1967 (USN) and lived there for 6 years. I married a girl from Honolulu and have made multiple trips back over the years both to visit family and as part of my job. The first thing that you have to understand is that since then the number of cars has dramatically increased while the roads have not, net result is terrible traffic, as an example my brother-in-law lives in Pearl City and his normal 14 mile commute takes over an hour. I see very little areas in Honolulu proper where I would feel comfortable riding a bike.
If somebody who praises cycling in Calgary is scared, that's really scary ^^ And even if there are these painted bike lanes they are literally "throwing you into the gutter"… The thing at 10:10, I way really waiting for a crash there.
as a local here.. ya biking is tough. even on bike lanes on major roads.. or the "spine" as you said... ppl still dont look or double take when turning onto a bike lane. everyady i encounter a idiot that does not look at their side view mirror before making a turn.
Maybe you could do a video on Stupid Cycle Path Tricks. We have a multi-use path in San Diego along the waterfront where every block you have to stop, go down to the corner and wait for the light.
Come to Ann Arbor, MI! We've got great bike culture in the heart of the motor city state, where building bike infrastructure sees enormous opposition. We've been building out a good network of protected bike lanes, and were recently named a "gold level" city by the league of American bicyclists, but IMO we have a loooooong way to go.
I lived there for 4 years without a car. It's absolutely the worst place I've ever had to bike... and I live in Houston😉. Cars dominate every square inch of the island.
I visit Houston a couple of times a year. It is hard to get my head around the fact that there are 12 worse entries on the People For Bikes rating of big cities. Houston has some nice trails but.....
@@HweolRidda yeah it ain't great by any means. But, it's possible for me to get to work without seeing many cars because of the bayou trail system. I live within a few miles of brays bayou and I can ride that most of the commute. However, my experience of Houston is much different than most and (like every other North American city) it has a long way to go before less experienced riders feel comfortable taking to the streets.
I don’t even know why I’m even watching this as a cyclist in hawaii. It’s just weird watching a video of which every word you hear you have dealt with and agree with
I think you're right. We can learn from other cities. It would be good to know what common citizens did in other cities to inspire politicians to install good bike infrastructure.
Imagine if they spent the $12 billion for the Rail on really nice bike infrastructure instead. Hawaii would be the definition of a world class cycling city just based on parking considerations alone.
One plus in Hawaii is that you can cycle on sidewalks, with a few caveats. Less than 10mph, pedestrians have the right of way always, and you have to treat pedestrian crossings as a pedestrian, as in get off and walk your bike through.
I'd be fully taking advantage of that. The bike gutters are scary, you couldn't pay me to ride in them. The sidewalks by contrast looked wide and safe.
As a recumbent, tadpole configured tricycle rider, which has a maximum width of 3 feet, I wonder about the width of cycle paths? My trike is not motorised and has 63 gears.
People often don't think of the space required for car infrastructure. Cutting the amount of space designated to cars would also allow that space to go to the people, whether that is for housing, businesses, parks, etc.
I have to say, I don't think I saw _one_ piece of bike infrastructure in this video that would count as best practice. Personally I can't think of any place worse than a tourist destination where you need a car to get around, especially somewhere with a 10 to 1 tourist to local ratio, why would you possibly want all those cars on the road! If that is what the council is spending money on they are probably losing money.
I live in Kailua. I would say O'ahu is a terrifying bike island, and there have been some very unpleasant accidents. However, many places are great for slow sidewalk scooting with a scooter that has pneumatic tires. But there is virtually no-one else besides myself riding these! Besides within the business districts such as Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu, you can expect no trouble from the law by riding a bicycle on the sidewalk as long as you respect any and all pedestrians, slow down, and dismount when appropriate. Besides the danger, we have a huge problem with bike theft so leaving your bike unattended is stressful. Safer Streets and HBL are working on making it better for the future. Cyclists also need to contribute to the aloha by not riding in a rude, illegal, wrong-way, manner and slowing down around people. We have some of the worst bike riders in one of the worst bike infrastructures!
Love your channel. I live in Ireland and gave up my car for a pedal assist ebike. I love it but as usual drivers think they own the road, it’s dangerous. My question is why don’t you wear a helmet? Not saying your wrong but I was wondering do you feel safer without one?☘️☘️🇮🇪
Id love to see you cover brooklyn but not greenpoint or parkslope. Im from flatbush the largest neighborhood and our bike infrastructure is somehow worse
I couldn't get over the feeling that Honolulu has the heart of a bike city that's buried inside the chest of a car city. Good to see the progress that has happened, and hopefully more improvements can come!
*Travis counsell is the last person you want to take advice from. He took down a successful bike business and sold it while using mom and dad's money who both work in the east coast scamming people with insurance. Remember to ask him how he uses daddy's money to live in the island*
S-l-o-w-l-y change will come. Maybe too late then who cares! 🤣
Honolulu native here, it is a very old city built around communities but car culture has dominated. People actively hate both bike infrastructure and trains. 😢
@@jaredpr704 And they killed the paradise with the car 😲
Honolulu stopped building bike infrastructure because they ran out of money. They blew their entire transportation budget on a $6.4 billion dollar rail project. Now they have no money anything else, especially bikes.
Going to Hawaii for the hard hitting bike journalism we all need. Thank you for selflessly taking one for the team 😎🏝️
The sacrifices I make to bring you content 😂
@@Shifter_Cycling This is just further cementing the fact that the pain/struggle outside of a car is real. Your deeds will forever be appreciated in our war against car dependency and towards more micromobility.
😅
@@Murillos1 Humans are #SocialAnimals, some less so. I have the option to #walk a bustling compact city or go to the deserted suburbs. And believe me, suburbs are depressing. Then the #bike comes in and gives me wings. This may sound #subversive in North America, but we need options 😜
@@Murillos1 War? We got an actual revolution to empower pedestrian life 😎
Car dependency on a tropical island seems very counter intuitive.
This thought nagged me on the entire trip.
@@Shifter_Cycling been to Bali and its also hostile to cyclist also this video makes me ask if there is any good bike friendly tropical island city at all
@@killuwitgunz Singapore?
There's nice leisure riding in Singapore (PCN comes to my mind), absolutely lovely.
However hardly anyone seemed to ride a bike for transportation though, even though drivers are courteous, nearly as courteous as Swiss drivers. I guess the subway is simply too great, too clean, too ubiquitous, Singapore is basically transit heaven.
Cyclists may use the bus lanes but, since public transport is awesome in Singapore, there's a near endless stream of buses. But they are Euro 6, so that's excellent.
Apparently (may be?) there's a helmet law for riding on regular streets but I only found out after I left.
It's because all the local people work tourists jobs in the city but have to live outside the city because cost of living in Honolulu is too high and local people can't afford it with their tourism jobs. The tourism industry in Hawaii is pretty toxic. So is rich people driving local people to the brink of extinction.
So sad that a place with beautiful weather could easily be an urban heaven with better transportation infrastructure centered around people
If tourists came to Hawaii to ride bikes there would be better biking infrastructure. I'm fairly convinced the infrastructure is designed to make it difficult to get out of Waikiki because that's where all the tourism business is and the business owners want people to spend money on their stuff, not leave Waikiki and spend money elsewhere.
@@McBeatha Damn capitalist minds 😵💫
@Garden State RX8 Let me see, Miami, Puerto Rico, Honolulu all dysfunctional. Key West is nice 👌
@@wisetibetanmonkey1624 key west is flat and 1/30th the size of Oahu hahahaha. Oahu Is not a small island, most people live 20 or more miles from work. Sure they can build more bike lanes in town, will that help locals? Nope, not really. It will help tourists and wealthy people who already have very walkable neighborhoods because the core of honolulu is walkable.
Have you ever been to honolulu? It's a very walkable city. If your wealthy or a tourist you can easily walk around honolulu without issue. However most locals live outside the city, and drive 20 miles or more to work. Building bike lanes in the urban core won't actually help the people who will use them. Sure it will make things cooler for tourists and rich people who can live in the urban core. But will it help those who live 20-30 miles away on the west side or Central Oahu? Nope. Will it help those who live in Kailua or kaneohe who have to travel through mile long tunnels through 4000 foot peaks to get to town? Nope. Oahu isn't flat amsterdam or Singapore. It's a decent size island with mountainous terrain.
YES IT'S TERRIBLE. I went to high school near Honolulu and honestly, biking is really really scary on Oahu in general, even if you get a superbike that can go 30 mph, most people drive to bike somewhere nice. Overall, Oahu needs help to make other modes of transit safer, and helping bikers and pedestrians will ease congestion a lot.
Honolulu has so many elements that could make it into a bike city. Hopefully, some change will come.
When I went to Hawaii recently my biggest surprise was just how many people biked, even in the worst of conditions. At one point we went through a narrow pass between two steep hills, barely big enough for two lanes, no shoulder at all, full capacity, and someone was biking on the inch and I mean literal inch, of road available, they might have been leaning a little bit away from the road to avoid being hit.
If Hawaii is able to build even the barest passable biking infrastructure, I suspect that it will quickly become the biking capital of the US.
This was my feeling exactly. Just a few nudges could really help develop it into an amazing bike city
This was my experience, too.
Cost of living is extremely high here, and many people can't afford a car (over 17% of households don't have access to a car). Public transit is awful here, so for many people (myself included) biking is basically our only option, even though it's extremely dangerous.
@@katiem.3109 I hope things get better for you all
@@Treviisolion Thanks. I hope so too, but the progress here is extremely slow and planned improvements are often vetoed by politicians over 'traffic concerns'. I take comfort in the fact that at least I won't be living here forever, once I get my PhD I'm out (I'm a PhD student at UH manoa, which is the only reason I live here).
Thanks for getting in touch with the Hawaii Bicycling League. We really do have the right ingredients to be an awesome bike city, with people working from multiple angles to increase our liveability. Come back in a few years and let's review!
Coincidentally, Strong Towns just released a podcast episode about Honolulu. It’d be interesting to see how the Hawaiian islands would have turned out without the import of suburban planning, especially on such a unique landmass that does not lend itself to the same cookie cutter style of construction.
oh man, that McCully/Kapiolani intersection bike lane situation feels like a death trap. Making right from McCully onto Kapiolani is super scary.
I don't mind mixing with traffic, but riding next to parked cars makes me cringe. All it takes is one person opening their door to send you to the hospital.
Ironically, I live in a suburb with NO bike infrastructure and aggressive drivers, and I leave there to go riding with friends every week in downtown Detroit, which is becoming quite nice for riding.
Or the morgue. Someone in my immediate neighborhood was killed a few years ago after someone doored them, and they went under the wheels of a garbage truck. :(
Detroit was making bikes, I think 🤔
Yep. Bike lane in the door zone equals NO bike lane.
@@fluuufffffy1514 Bike lane in Miami means convenient parking zone 😎
I grew up on the north side of the island (in Kahuku) and one of the best things they ever did between my town and the neighboring one was make a bike path connecting our two towns. The majority of the streets don't have dedicated bike infrastructure, but they are usually calm enough where biking is a great option. I would ride down from my house to the local university all the time to research at the library or just hang out with friends. I definitely wish more of the island was bikeable, and had better transit too. Hopefully the rail brings even more walkable areas to the crowded streets downtown.
I just rode in the Honolulu Century Ride over the weekend and saw a fellow cyclist hit a car. Car pulled in front of them despite having coned off bike lanes here. It can be very dangerous.
Also, even if that wasn’t an issue, cycling is hard as a transportation option because despite all the progress with protected bike lanes, we’re still lacking in serious bike parking. I recently ordered an ebike for my commute, but now I’m considering cancelling the order because of the lack of sufficient bike parking at businesses like grocery stores or cafes where I might want to patron while commuting.
We’ve made a lot of progress since the King St bike path in 2014, but we still have a long way to go.
So TRUE! I live on the south side in Ewa Beach. I used to commute to Palolo Valley for work. Yes I was the only one who did that. Because the infrastructure is not there. Luckily I was a bike racer so I could speed thru difficult paths. Lived here my whole life and I'm glad you showcased the city in the state I live in. I dislike city cycling, thus I created the only non city group ride out in Kapolei called the "Sunday Morning Coffee Jam." Kapolei is quickly becoming the 2nd city of Oahu with many state offices being built there instead of Honolulu. Anyhoo, thanks for the showcase.
I heard of your group a few years ago (I'm a bike commuter and live in Pearl City), but the COVID hit.
I was born and grew up in Honolulu (and the Windward side of the island) and somehow still turned out to be a life-long cyclist (I'm over 70 now and living in Reno). Cycling in Hawai'i is horrific, where, as you say, it should be a paradise.
The mentality of residents in Hawai'i has to be taken into consideration. I'd say it's closest to "fatalistic", partly due to culture, largely due to horrible government. The mentality extends to a host of problems, that see little to no progress (and regress in some areas) over my 7 decades. Every time I return home to visit friends and family, my heart is heavy: more cars, more congestion, more environmental damage, more fatalism. So heavy that I've got to hop on my bike and go for a highly dangerous (and altogether unnecessarily adrenaline-inducing) ride!
I visited Honolulu fairly recently and was unpleasantly surprised about how much traffic there was an how bicycle and pedestrian unfriendly it was. Why does an island have so much traffic?! We ended up taking an Uber a lot because there was no fast and easy transit option from the airport to Waikiki. Walking around Waikiki was ok but walking in other areas felt very unsafe due to heavy traffic and poor infrastructure. And we didn't even try bicycling. Tourists don't want to have to rent a car or use Uber (and I'm sure many of the locals don't either!) There really doesn't need to be so many wide one way streets with space for nothing but cars!
I grew up in Hawaii and also did some biking around the city of Honolulu in my years living there. One of the saving graces about biking in Hawaii without great infrastructure is the aloha and respectfulness of drivers to cyclists. Very laid back compare to the dangerous cities in the mainland states! I think this may be overlooked by some city bicycle infrastructure rankings. Thanks for your videos! Really enjoy them. Aloha!
As someone who lives in honolulu and bikes as my main form of transportation (I can't afford a car) this has not been my experience, at all. On the contrary, I've found drivers here to be far, far more aggressive and reckless than I am used to, having grown up and regularly biked on the mainland (specifically, Minnesota). In particular, people speed like crazy here, and get really, really road-ragey if they think you're going too slowly. I've had people honk at me for refusing to run red lights, not to mention the time someone swerved into the bike lane in what could have only been a deliberate attempt to hit me...
Yes - I live here, although not in Waikiki - but bike amenities are sadly lacking. Despite the best efforts of the HBL, The Bicvcling League, improvements are slow and a pain. I live in Wahiawa and ebike to Mililani to swim and shop several times a week, but even that involves mostly highway riding. Travis is good people.
Travis is good people! Keep up the good work.
The traffic in Honolulu is ridiculous. Transit or bike infrastructure would make rush hour a little more bearable.
I know a light-rail line is under construction. I hope that makes a difference.
If you're interested in continuing to explore the er...*varied* (but learn-from-able) bike experience, there's a weekend in Houston with your name on it.
If you ever decide to come back in the US to bike, I suggest visiting Portland. Definitely a top-notch bike-friendly for a mid-sized major city in the US. Kind of Amsterdam-esque bike city if you ask me.
I haven't been to Portland in years, but it's definitely on my list to see.
I was gonna say, what they (Honolulu) need are a couple of Dutchmen/women to come in and help things along for some of those awkward paths.
Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon?
@@bobwood9689 Oregon!
Hawaii is also the US.
Even the separated bike lane of the spine looked fairly narrow for a 2 way lane especially if you get cargo-bikes or trailers using it. Look at the overtake at 3:36. I am not sure what width it is or what the intended peak usage is - but it looks narrow. I would be more happy with 3m minimum - for a 2 way lane - as the spine. At places it looked a fair bit less than 2m because of the horrendous gutters.
I also prefer one-way separated bike lanes wherever possible.
I agree. I think the rule of thumb should be a bike should be able to comfortably overtake WITH oncoming traffic. As you say, that puts it in the 3 to 3.5 metre range or the width of a highway lane. This also allows for larger cycle types and conversational cycling with people riding side by side when traveling together.
Some of the bike lanes here are less than 2 feet wide. It's really bad, especially because bikers are legally required to use bike lanes here, so you have no choice but to use them, even when they're extremely dangerous.
@@katiem.3109 Required to use them!? What a bad and dangerous rule!
Outside of the urban core, there's almost nothing except some paint, and we all know paint is not infrastructure. I live in Pearl City and commute on the Pearl Harbor bike path. It's useful for me but lacks a lot of useful connections, feels very neglected, and could use a repaving.
Those door zone bike lanes are terrifying. Worse than nothing.
The bike lanes on Beretania, University, and Dole (not shown in this video) are even worse.
I grew up in Honolulu and rode my bike 15K miles per year in the late 1960's. However, I cannot make myself ride in Honolulu. I do still ride in Maui and the Big island,
Uh.. that spine - it has 3 lanes ONE direction, plus 2 parking lanes? And all bikes have is one lane size birectional way? And that is the good part?
Have a friend who was knocked off his bike twice in Honolulu. Have a cousin who arrived home in tears after nearly being run over in her moped. Have seen the blanched face of a biker competing for space at night on a narrow road after my rear view mirror after missing him by inches. The island is 17 miles from north to south with 900k plus residents.
Here right now, and probably passed you sometime on the street in the past few days (yes, on a bixi bike). OMG the proliferation of one way streets, and I recognize those terrible corners.
We ALWAYS rent bikes in the cities we visit. We spent Christmas 2022 in Honolulu - so just after you filmed this - and found it to be terrible for bike riding. The bike infrastructure is sparse and what we saw, it was easily one of the worst that I've ever experienced in a modern city. We rode the same areas that you showed and many other areas over eight days. There are so many things to love about Hawaii, but bike riding is not one of them.
I lived there when I was a kid in the 70's. This was such a treat to see your video. Thank you! Seems to me bikes should be an integral part of Hawaii.
Oahu has a halfway decent bike path running parallel to 99 highway, it just switches sides and is broken up into pieces sometimes, used to ride from Waipahu to base on that path.
You took your life into your hands. I’ve lived in Hawaii for 30 years and gave up riding my bike 10 years ago, because no one pays any attention to anything smaller than a car. The town is filled with Mr. and Mrs. MaGoos…the two way bike lanes on King Street intersected with driveways is just madness…I want to move to the Netherlands for many reasons, one of them NEVER having to drive a car. EVER.
Since it's construction 8 years ago, there has been a single fatality of a cyclist on the the King St bike lane. I've been riding in town for 5 years now, and I definitely notice that the drivers - while far from perfect - have gotten better about checking for bikes.
It's pretty easy making a bikeable city when you live in one of the most flat countries on the planet. It's also easy to build rail infastructure when you are not 3000 miles away from materials needed for such infastfuture hahahaha. If only hawaii and other islands were this lucky.
@@aaronkamakaze2967This is a lot of bullcrap. Being flat has almost nothing to do with it. It’s a conscious planning decision. Being 3000 miles from materials hasn’t exactly hampered Honolulu’s urban development given the preponderance of 40 story towers.
If you don’t mind riding on the sidewalk for some portions of your urban Honolulu route then it’s workable. Very short rides like errands are also ok.
But for a regular commuting on the road exclusively, that can be dangerous.
I'm a month late to this so you probably won't see this, but thank you so much for doing this video. As someone who uses a bike as my main form of transportation because I basically have no other choice (I'm a broke PhD student, and I can't take the bus because I need to be on time to my recitation sessions and classes, and walking is just as dangerous as biking, at least for my commuting route because of missing sidewalks), this is a major problem for me and I often feel like no one listens or cares. I'm worried that I'll die here and nothing will change. I've already been hit by a car once in the two years I've been here, and I've had so many close calls I've stopped counting.
The worst part, for me, is that no matter how dangerous the bike lanes are, we're legally obligated to use them. Even if they're less than two feet wide, next to 9 ft wide car lanes (meaning that there's like 4 inches between you and passing cars, even in the best case scenario)
I would really have liked to see some acknowledgement that car-dependency in Hawaiʻi cannot be separated from colonialism, the continued US military occupation, and the displacement of the Indigenous Hawaiian people. Car dependency is an attack against the climate, the health, and the economic well-being of the true owners and custodians of the island, and that story needs to be centered.
Thank you for raising these issues.
Exactly!
Great video. Visiting tourists from other countries not familiar with driving in the US certainly adds a safety concern here on Oahu. Its getting better and hipe to see it continue to progress. Love the positivity.
When I lived in Honolulu, I bike-commuted from Waikiki to the University of Hawaii/Manoa. Very stressful... only lasted about 5 months. This was back in 2018. The start of my commute is where he begins this video.
Thanks Tom, this is great. Honestly, it's another version of Auckland NZ where maybe the cycling is even scarier. Seemingly lots of laid back people and it can have that warm sunny feel (not at the moment LOL) but whew jump on a bike, and pretty soon you wish you hadn't. Great to highlight the importation of the American Surburban planning of the early 1950's... yep Aucklanders can relate to that, big time.Cheers
Currently on vacation in Rome; just did a 3 hour e-bike tour of the city last night. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. Rome is very autocentric; has little in the way of cycling infrastructure and the citizens have a "give zero f****" attitude. Add to this the throngs of tourists and narrow twisty streets, competing for road space as a cyclist was a challenge. In the end, the only successful strategy was to adopt a similar approach: Push yourself into the road space needed forcing all otherwise users to acomodate you.
Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the chaos so much, I've booked a 2nd e-bike tour in Rome.
I forgot to mention, the 1st tour was a nighttime tour as well, and allowed me to see 10 major attractions in 3 hours.
I live in Hawaii right now and I ride a hybrid Trek FX3 to work regularly not downtown Honolulu.
It is terrible as far as safety concerns. Every thing from the road conditions to the random construction sites.
But, its still fun and feels amazong
In Kauai, Hawaii, they have a separated road system just for biking and walking. I was very impressed and I could ride just about to any shop with just a bike.
Very enjoyable video.
I think Honolulu could learn a great deal from cities like Sevilla, in Spain.
They transformed their city in less than five years and now it is exemplary in so many ways.
"Looks like a typical trip to me" - with love from a Canadian suburb
Air quality in Honolulu can be absolutely appalling. I literally gagged at one point. Many people drive enormous SUVs for no apparent reason. Anyone who lives there ever talk about that?
51 y.o. and I’ve lived here my whole life. Been biking all the streets you showcased for 40+ years. I don’t think it’s that bad . I guess I don’t know any better 🤷🏻♂️
@hitman.radio30 I also ride my motorcycle passing cars @ 130+ mph. Makes riding my bike kind of tame.😅
Thanks! I like these reviews of other cities' bike infrastructure.
That's great to hear. I think most cities have something to teach us, so I'm glad to hear you got something out of this. Thanks so much for the support!
Watching you bike through traffic with a single hand sends shivers through my collarbone
Nice video, shoutout to Travis for really doing a great job explaining a lot of interesting things
I found my city (Erie PA) rated at #51. I’m kind of amazed by that. We’ve got a few mixed use paths, and two painted bikeways. Lots in the works though.
Maybe it's your traditional urban street grid. Being unfriendly to cars is half the battle to being friendly to everything else. A city with no bike lanes but good streets that physically limit cars to 15-20 mph beats a city with crappy bike lanes any day.
I used to live in Waikiki and bought a bike which I used maybe three times before it languished in storage, mainly because cycling was terrifying (this was 2007-2011).
I took my road bike to Oahu several times. Did Tantalus drive a couple times. Riding in Honolulu is like riding in any city - mixture of not bad routes to awesome rides by the ocean. Rode from Honolulu out past Hanauma bay. The last couple times, we stayed at Kailua - each morning I would ride up to Makapuu lighthouse. I tell anyone who is on a bike to remember that they are invisible. Then do everything you can to be visible - flashing lights front and back, loud music playing from a JBL water bottle sized speaker. I learned that from a guy that was riding up and down the Makapuu lighthouse trail - you always knew he was coming and no bell needed. I love Oahu riding!! I like your Frost Bike book - I "pioneered" winter riding in 1982, 1983 in Saskatoon.
That's great if you're a recreational cyclist. But some of us use biking as a form of transportation because we can't afford anything else (and can't afford the risk of being late if we take the bus), and for us, the situation here is horrific.
Thank you for covering this, perhaps someone with influence in the city will gain a perspective on the importance of building a bike network to combat the traffic congestion. I can see that not much has changed. I grew up there starting in the 70s and 80s. There was a very hardcore bike culture then built around young freestyle BMXers and skaters in the 80s that I was part of and we all relied on bikes or skateboards to get around everywhere. Shout out to our hangout Bikefactory (not sure if there's still around, but I think I saw them about 10 years ago). People then (as much as now I'm sure) rely a lot on sidewalks, as bikes aren't given the proper space or respect on the road. You have to be a skilled and saavy rider to make it your only form of transportation and not get seriously injured. I was hit twice in all those years, both times in the crosswalk at low speed. Fortunately I wasn't hurt badly. I found your channel recently as I contemplate bike commuting again. Thanks for the content, keep up the great work!
Two visits there in my life. Enjoyed both. I was ten the first time in 1974, and 21 the 2nd time in 1985. Noticed the costs of things the 2nd time for sure especially beers going out. It does seem kind of backwards with all the car jamming combined with the numbers of people, and that at the same time all bikes and all scooters I think too would make a pretty massive difference for quality of life. A guy can't help but want some kind of sports car there after watching all eight years of "Magnum P.I", but of course that doesn't preclude being on a bike lots more often either.
Copenhagen is only number 4 on that list. 😢
Top 3 is:
1) Utrecht, Netherlands,
2) Münster, Germany,
3) Antwerp, Belgium.
Well done you guys.
Not to mention our very high pedestrian death rates. The infrastructure is trash for all forms of transportation honestly. It’s sad to see so much wasted potential.
I have to admit, I just never ever thought a video about urban cycling in Honolulu was going to be a thing on Shifter!
Well, certainly not from someone who lives in Calgary!! 😅
But why not.
Make urban cycling videos while the sun shines! ☀️
I grew up riding BMX and later track bikes on the east coast. Through some life choices I ended up in Hawaii and chose to stay here. Still ride my track bike all over the island. And I gotta say, riding on southern Oahu (particularly HNL) is some of the most intense riding you will ever do anywhere in the US. You get the tourists who don't know where they're going (and many who don't speak english), combined with the locals who want to get around the tourists, combined with pedestrian traffic, city busses, constant construction. I would compare riding here to riding in a smaller NYC or SF, just without proper infrastructure. But its getting there, slowly.
Sounds about right. The "The Master Nike Plan" has been around long enough to see a couple of generations retire. They've been talking about connecting the PH bike path to the Ewa Beach one since King Kamehameha was a kid.
For those who wanting better bike infrastructure on Ali Wai Blvd, the city is hosting a meting about putting in protected bike lanes on Oct 26 at 6pm HST on Zoom: www.honolulu.gov/completestreets/waikiki
@Shifter , really liked this video, but the "The spine of a network and the meaning of 'mauka to maki'" part of the video, was a little confusing when the narrator was taking about street intersections without a map of reference to see where the streets were in Honolulu.
The second best Hawaiian horror film I've ever seen.
John Carpenter's - Escape from Honolulu.
Would love to see you tackle NYC/Jersey City!
Hawaii's populated area just is not big enough to support cars, your working with 120 miles of just land, then like 80 miles or less of populated land, break it down further with connected community and you've got like 50 miles to work with and that is the entire state of Hawaii, all its islands with only 3 of them housing connected communities. Which that breaks down to 12, 6, 3, 28 miles chunks. I can see cars being used to get to the more remote locals, but thats it, the daily commute and inner city traffic should be bike and bus focused.
Not as bad as biking in any south east asian country. I bike to work sometimes here in the philippines, many people do. We are always right next to big trucks and bus running 60kmph on a narrow road lol, and thats just normal for us. Other countries have it good, just some more roadwork and you can have a bike friendly city. Our cities here dont even have zoning or housing regulations. Just build whatever wherever. Thats why the streets are always crowded and dangerous. When i get an opportunity, i will get out of this place and live the rest of my life in a peaceful farm or something.
Im a former cancer patient who was diagnosed when I was 7 or 8 years old so balancing on a bike was really out of the picture then. Now, Im all cancer free and have just re-learned how to ride a bike, especially on side walks but I usually just stick to the king street bike lane. However, I never noticed the pensacola bike lane because google maps hasnt updated their street view yet
If you ever come to Australia, I'd be happy to show you around Brisbane. Go global, Tom 😉
I rode a lap of Oahu, Honolulu itself wasn't wonderful but found the drivers on the coast road were great. Enjoyed the Pearl Harbour on the way back into Honolulu but then got to a dire semi-industrial area which was horrible.
Small detail that makes a lot of difference at 3:35. There's an extra buffer for parked cars to open the door on the cyclepath side
The idea that weather is the biggest determinant of biking really needs to die. I mean, car would be undriveable in any city with winter weather if cities didn't spend literally millions on helping them keep driving, usually within hours of any snowfall. Hell even walking would be unmanageable if everyone wasn't required to clear snow off their piece of sidewalk. It's always infrastructure that is the difference. Always.
Crazy to think the home of Ironman is not a great place to cycle.
I traveled through Honolulu for work this summer. Somehow I was expecting to get around easily. Man was I wrong 😢
I'm very competitive when riding my bike, my bike is an xc
But when I saw this channel shifter, I realized that I can enjoy riding my bike casually, not as fast as before, but the fun is different from the simplicity only when riding a bike, there is no one before you, you should just enjoy it, this day, this new day.
Amazing! Bike racing is great, but it's a totally different experience than slower urban rides. Thanks for watching!
Hi Tom, love the vids thanks.
Just wondering what bike you are riding in this video (red & grey bike), I really like the look of it. Thanks.
Not sure why cities like this don't promote bicycling. It makes sense to ride bikes there.
I lived in Honolulu from 1998-2002 and I was hit twice during that time by drivers while riding my bike. Nothing serious (I did get a tacoed rim in one incident), but the bike infrastructure was non-existent back then.
Sounds like Hamburg. You got areas with like nice bike lanes and then you got places where the painted on side lanes, cross right turn lanes and then just disappear into a big multi lane intersections.
Honestly, a lot of German cities can be like this. I think it's down to a general lack of thorough concepts to make the cities more bike-friendly. On the other hand, I believe some places have realized that they need to increasingly accommodate people that bike which may lead to better infrastructure down the line.
Similar issues can also be seen with transit and walkability, although there are plans to improve.
Your very focused on the waikiki area and Honolulu is way bigger than that. I went to school there and had no issues biking around, confidence in yourself, and your ability help. Biking while distracted (filming) doesn't help anyone. Maybe a gopro attached to the helmet is better way forward.
As someone who lives in New Orleans, tourists driving make every bike ride more dangerous. They don’t know where they’re going and aren’t look8ng for bikes. They love to drive in the bike lane, and most importantly, are drunk.
Try cycling in Athens, Greece. You will understand what terror means.
Totally agree Giorgos.
I hope in the future there be a bike road from the west side too anywhere from the island. Not only in Honolulu long rides and lanes that are safe sounds like fun.
I first went to Honolulu in 1967 (USN) and lived there for 6 years. I married a girl from Honolulu and have made multiple trips back over the years both to visit family and as part of my job. The first thing that you have to understand is that since then the number of cars has dramatically increased while the roads have not, net result is terrible traffic, as an example my brother-in-law lives in Pearl City and his normal 14 mile commute takes over an hour. I see very little areas in Honolulu proper where I would feel comfortable riding a bike.
If somebody who praises cycling in Calgary is scared, that's really scary ^^
And even if there are these painted bike lanes they are literally "throwing you into the gutter"… The thing at 10:10, I way really waiting for a crash there.
as a local here.. ya biking is tough. even on bike lanes on major roads.. or the "spine" as you said... ppl still dont look or double take when turning onto a bike lane. everyady i encounter a idiot that does not look at their side view mirror before making a turn.
Maybe you could do a video on Stupid Cycle Path Tricks.
We have a multi-use path in San Diego along the waterfront where every block you have to stop, go down to the corner and wait for the light.
Awesome channel.
Come to Ann Arbor, MI! We've got great bike culture in the heart of the motor city state, where building bike infrastructure sees enormous opposition. We've been building out a good network of protected bike lanes, and were recently named a "gold level" city by the league of American bicyclists, but IMO we have a loooooong way to go.
Great to hear there's progress happening in the heart of car country!
@@Shifter_Cycling mostly just in our little bubble, but there's hope!
I'd recommend listening to the most recent Strong Towns Podcast episode, it was about the suburban experiment in Hawaii.
I lived there for 4 years without a car. It's absolutely the worst place I've ever had to bike... and I live in Houston😉. Cars dominate every square inch of the island.
I visit Houston a couple of times a year. It is hard to get my head around the fact that there are 12 worse entries on the People For Bikes rating of big cities. Houston has some nice trails but.....
@@HweolRidda yeah it ain't great by any means. But, it's possible for me to get to work without seeing many cars because of the bayou trail system. I live within a few miles of brays bayou and I can ride that most of the commute. However, my experience of Houston is much different than most and (like every other North American city) it has a long way to go before less experienced riders feel comfortable taking to the streets.
I don’t even know why I’m even watching this as a cyclist in hawaii. It’s just weird watching a video of which every word you hear you have dealt with and agree with
Thanks! Great video, Honolulu could be and hopefully will be a wonderful bicycle city someday.
You're the best Philip. Your support means a lot. Thank you!
It is safer to ride on the Big Island than in Honolulu. On the Big Island people are used to cyclist training for the Ironman.
I think you're right. We can learn from other cities. It would be good to know what common citizens did in other cities to inspire politicians to install good bike infrastructure.
Imagine if they spent the $12 billion for the Rail on really nice bike infrastructure instead. Hawaii would be the definition of a world class cycling city just based on parking considerations alone.
One plus in Hawaii is that you can cycle on sidewalks, with a few caveats. Less than 10mph, pedestrians have the right of way always, and you have to treat pedestrian crossings as a pedestrian, as in get off and walk your bike through.
I'd be fully taking advantage of that. The bike gutters are scary, you couldn't pay me to ride in them. The sidewalks by contrast looked wide and safe.
Nice that you have some rules on sidewalk cycling.
@@tthomas184 Sadly, the sidewalks are only wide in Waikiki. In the rest of the city they are extremely narrow, or on some streets nonexistent.
As a recumbent, tadpole configured tricycle rider, which has a maximum width of 3 feet, I wonder about the width of cycle paths? My trike is not motorised and has 63 gears.
People often don't think of the space required for car infrastructure. Cutting the amount of space designated to cars would also allow that space to go to the people, whether that is for housing, businesses, parks, etc.
I have to say, I don't think I saw _one_ piece of bike infrastructure in this video that would count as best practice. Personally I can't think of any place worse than a tourist destination where you need a car to get around, especially somewhere with a 10 to 1 tourist to local ratio, why would you possibly want all those cars on the road! If that is what the council is spending money on they are probably losing money.
I live in Kailua. I would say O'ahu is a terrifying bike island, and there have been some very unpleasant accidents. However, many places are great for slow sidewalk scooting with a scooter that has pneumatic tires. But there is virtually no-one else besides myself riding these! Besides within the business districts such as Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu, you can expect no trouble from the law by riding a bicycle on the sidewalk as long as you respect any and all pedestrians, slow down, and dismount when appropriate. Besides the danger, we have a huge problem with bike theft so leaving your bike unattended is stressful. Safer Streets and HBL are working on making it better for the future. Cyclists also need to contribute to the aloha by not riding in a rude, illegal, wrong-way, manner and slowing down around people. We have some of the worst bike riders in one of the worst bike infrastructures!
Thank you for sharing a local perspective
Love your channel. I live in Ireland and gave up my car for a pedal assist ebike. I love it but as usual drivers think they own the road, it’s dangerous. My question is why don’t you wear a helmet? Not saying your wrong but I was wondering do you feel safer without one?☘️☘️🇮🇪
Id love to see you cover brooklyn but not greenpoint or parkslope. Im from flatbush the largest neighborhood and our bike infrastructure is somehow worse
Thanks!
Thank you so much Richard! I appreciate the support. It means a lot.