New ‘right turn only’ lane in Hawaii Kai a danger to bicyclists

The state and county have done a good job of talking about improving the environment for bicyclists by passing the Complete Streets law, approving the Oahu Bike Plan, setting up a Safe Routes to School fund and mandating reduced oil consumption — but sometimes engineering practices just don’t match the talk.

A case in point is the new right-turn lane from Keahole Street onto Kalanianaole Highway in Hawaii Kai.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) completed the project last year with the intention that motorists would spend less time waiting to turn onto the highway. Not only have some motorists expressed their dissatisfaction that they have not experienced the expected improvements, but one group of roadway users in particular is actually worse off now than they were before the new lane was put in.

This intersection includes a right-turn-only lane (RTOL) just prior to the new lane. When a bicyclist encounters a RTOL and wishes to go straight, the proper movement is to get into the "through lane" and then back into the bike lane.

At the intersection of Kalanianaole Highway and Keahole Street, this movement is made more difficult with the addition of the new turning lane, as the bicyclist ends up in the middle lane and must cross the new lane to get back into the bike lane. In my experience, this is an awkward movement at best and is further complicated when motorists do not follow the rules of the road.

I have asked the state DOT to allow bicyclists to go through the RTOL, as is permissible under federal guidelines, by putting up applicable signage and paint in the RTOL. The response from the state was that such an exception would "create confusion" between motorists and bicyclists.

Maui, however, has several intersections that include combined bike and right-turn-only lanes. Does the state consider Maui drivers somehow more competent than Oahu drivers? Or is it just more acceptable to put bicyclists on Oahu in this precarious situation?

Of all of the RTOLs on Kalanianaole Highway between Ainakoa Avenue and Lunalilo Home Road — there are at least 10 of them — only one is marked with a bike lane. Imagine if bicyclists followed the law and rode down the highway alternating between the bike lane and the through lane as each RTOL were encountered. Given our limited space, it simply makes sense for our planners to accommodate bicyclists in the manner that is already being done on Maui.

I urge the DOT to follow through with the "talk" of supporting Complete Streets and creating a better environment for bicyclists sooner rather than later and include an exception for bicyclists in every RTOL on Kalanianaole Highway.