Question: I know that you have published a few articles about the new bike lane on King Street, and I think we are just going to have to see how it works out during the "pilot program" period. However, one of my main concerns now is parking. What parking is allowed on the mauka side of King Street? There still are barriers along the entire side of King Street where the bike lane was installed. However, no one seems to know what parking is allowed or not. I called the Honolulu Police Department and was connected to a person who had absolutely no idea what the parking situation was. He told me to park in the Straub Clinic and Hospital parking structure if the signs were not clear. I also asked a meter attendant collecting monies from the meters and he also told me he had no idea what parking was allowed. During the day, no one parks in the newly marked parking spaces in the traffic lane, but at night and on the weekends, I see cars parking in these new spaces in the area fronting Straub. However, in the McCully area, cars are parking next to the sidewalk at night. Where is parking allowed now and at what times?

Answer: We have answered numerous questions regarding the King Street Cycle Track project and weren’t going to answer any more, since the project is set to be completed Dec. 6 and the city Department of Transportation Services has distributed pamphlets and set up classes and a website to educate the public about the dedicated bikeway.

However, since the parking situation is causing some confusion, we asked DTS Director Michael Formby to explain where parking currently is allowed along the cycle track.

He noted that the business community had asked DTS to restore on-street parking when the cycle track was installed.

"We planned on doing it incrementally as we moved down the street, but it did cause problems," he said.

For example, when parking spaces were opened near Straub, drivers pulled up behind parked cars, not knowing that the cars weren’t going to move.

For now, since the opening is just a short time away, motorists need to heed the signs, Formby said.

"If the parking stalls are marked and there is no ‘no parking’ sign, they can park there," he said. "However, if there is a ‘no parking’ sign adjacent to the marked parking stalls, they cannot park there and HPD will enforce" the prohibition.

For more information, go to facebook.com/HonoluluBicycleProgram.

CYCLE TRACK CLASSES

The Hawaii Bicycling League will be holding classes to acquaint pedestrians, cyclists and motorists with the new King Street Cycle Track, as follows:

» 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday (today): Thomas Square, corner of King Street and Ward Avenue. A walking tour on the basics of the cycle track.

» 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10: The Bike Shop Honolulu, 1149 S. King St. Cycle track skills.

» 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 13: In front of the Fasi Municipal Building. Cycle track skills.

To sign up, go to hbl.org/workshops or call 735-5756.

Mahalo

To everyone who offered to help this 76-year-old grandmother after my engine died as I was driving my 11-year-old granddaughter to school on Oct. 30. While waiting for my cousin to come with jumper cables to start the battery, my friend, Rachel, came by and drove my granddaughter to school. When my cousin arrived, he was not able to start the car because the problem was with the accelerator. The car had to be towed. I sent him on to work while I waited for a tow truck. A lady who lived across the street waited with me a half-hour because she didn’t want me to be alone. Then a young man pulled his truck behind my car so no one would hit me. When the lady saw he was staying, she went home. This young man then waited over an hour with me until the tow truck came. Mahalo to Ed Akau of Hope Chapel and all the others who showed that the aloha spirit is still alive! — Pat Chu, Kapolei

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.