Bicycles don’t wear out roads like cars
Russell Gust is right (“Bicyclists should be paying fair share,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, Dec. 12). Cyclists should pay their “fair share” of the road taxes.
The point of the tax is to help pay for repaving, restriping and other wear and tear associated with the traffic the roadway has to bear. Exactly what percentage of the taxes should bicycles pay? They weigh a fraction of their four-wheeled counterparts (and don’t pollute the air like most of them, either).
How long would it take weekly bike traffic on the King Street bike lane to wear pavement down to the point where it would need restriping or repaving, taking into consideration wear caused by vehicle traffic crossing the lane while entering and exiting driveways, side streets and the like?
Tracey Scott
Wahiawa
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Only city dwellers will use bike lanes
Bike lanes will be used for transportation within the city, and only if you live in the city (“McCully Street bike lanes to eliminate up to 30 parking spots,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 2).
Most people have to travel from Leeward, Windward and East Honolulu. How about improving conditions to get into the city before taking up more road space for bicyclists?
I do not see very many people using the bike lanes. It is a waste of money and space that could be used for other things, like repaving Waikalua Road in Kaneohe.
You should check out the condition of this road. It has been 30-plus years, with only filled potholes that make the road bumpier.
Dennis Sanada
Kaneohe
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HMSA’s plan may drive away doctors
You present an overly rosy account of the Hawaii Medical Service Association’s change of payments to doctors from fee-for-service to capitation (“HMSA to phase in system overhaul,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 11).
Hawaii lacks primary care doctors. HMSA and soon Medicare will pay less to these hardworking family practitioners, internists and gerontologists.
You cannot attract more scarce medical professionals by paying them a set fee, regardless of need for time spent and tests ordered per patient.
Our gerontologist-internist is quitting and taking a job with a major medical HMO, in order to continue to practice quality medicine and have time for family life.
The way to attract good primary-care doctors is to subsidize their electronic record-keeping burdens and not subject them to denial of payment for referrals to specialists and necessary tests.
These are people who train for a decade and pass the most stringent exams. Once they qualify, accept their medical opinion, please.
Do not shunt patients to telephone and electronic “appointments.”
I speak as the wife and mother of doctors and the wife of a chronically and critically ill patient.
Jean E. Rosenfeld
Nuuanu
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Trump should bring call centers back
In order to make America great again, lower costs, reduce wasted time, reduce psychotherapy bills, and bring us together as a nation, I suggest that President Donald Trump bring the call centers back to the U.S.
Stephen Foster Williams
Waimanalo
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‘Concoct’ describes rail transit planning
Thank you for your most appropriate headline regarding our rail-fail situation: “Feds give city more time to concoct rail plan” (Star-Advertiser, Dec. 8).
Synonyms for concoct include: make up, dream up, fabricate, invent, trump up.
Indeed, there is no rail plan.
Rail is a huge concoction perpetuated by local mini-minded political aspirations and greed — a seriously flawed, intentionally misleading project from the beginning.
We are allowing major moral and fiscal failures to continue. The city continues to mishandle the project. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation clearly is irresponsible, a revolving door with no clear understanding of the facts and figures. Every month, just add another billion.
We have no money for completion, let alone for maintenance.
Rethink the already built portion and use it for transportation other than a train.
Watch out, Thomas Square: You’re next.
Mary J. Culvyhouse
Kaneohe
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Let special interests pay for rail project
Sunday’s editorial said in part that “everyone who benefits from the rail project … pay part of its cost” (“City, state need to ensure rail goes the distance,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Dec. 11).
There are tens of thousands of us who will never ride the rail or even see it in operation.
Let the true beneficiaries bear the cost for a project that never reflected Mufi Hannemann’s statement: “Do we need it? Can we afford it? Can we maintain it?”
Let the politicians who rammed this project down our throats pay for it with the cash donations they sold their souls for, as well as the developers, contractors, unions and overpaid project staff who are taking their ill-gotten gains to the bank.
Honolulu will sadly be mocked as Murphy’s Law is played out at the municipal level by incompetent people.
Hang on to your wallets, folks.
Steve Vidinha
Kaneohe
Random Acts of Kindness
In the spirit of this holiday season, readers are invited to write in about random acts of kindness — something that is so unexpected but special and touching that it should be shared with our community.
Send a 150-word letter, or a commentary at 500-600 words, to letters@staradvertiser.com by Dec. 21. A collection of them will run on Christmas Day.
55 responses to “Bicycles don’t wear out roads like cars”
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Tracey Scott, bicycles on the King Street cycle path do not cause any wear to it but it does take up valuable road space. We have traffic congestion and that cycle track only makes congestion worse. So how much should bicyclists pay for that valuable road space?
The out of shape girl complaining about bicycles again…..
Ha ha ha. Breath in. Breath out. Feel better now?
Ommmm…..
That’s the way, Kiragirl–:)
It is not safe for bikes to be that close to cars and trucks. I would limit bike riding to safe trails and make these lane in parks, far away from moving vehicles. Every time I drive by a bike on the road in my car I think of liability issues if it swerves in from of me. If two cars collide, it is a sample mater of exchanging insurance info and getting a dent fixed. If a car and a bike collide the biker rider is likely to end up dead or paralyzed for life. Let’s quit encouraging this craziness !
Tracey Scott – the bike lanes need to be restriped periodically since we live in an ocean environment and things like rain and wind do their damage. This has little to do with weight and much more to do with valuable space on the roads the bikes take up, the extra planter boxes and cement curbs that need to be placed, the painting and marking, signing and lighting that must be initially paid and regularly maintained. It is short sighted to think that only weight of vehicles brings a cost.
One could argue that cars are wasting alot of taxpayer money and cyclists should not have to pay for it. Most cyclist also own cars and they are already paying for services. I find most of these anti bike lane people to be racists!
Racists? Good grief!
marcus says: “I find most of these anti bike lane people to be racists!”
Really?
Just a word of advice. When you start calling everyone you disagree with a “racist,” the word loses meaning and your voice becomes noise. Worse, real racists start getting ignored.
Please try to argue ideas instead of inappropriate name calling.
Racists? More likely just people who cannot accept change. Roads have always existed for cars and that is how it should always be. Short sighted and just wrong but that is hardly racist.
“”More likely just people who cannot accept change””
Pot meet kettle. Aren’t you the one who cannot accept that we have a Republican President?
lol, Keolu, I will accept that we will have a republican president. Will you accept the corruption that will surely follow from this next administration? Enjoy your minimum wage job. lol
I will enjoy pointing out his hypocrisy such as his latest refusal to explain how he will avoid conflicts of interests. I suspect the Donald will be so bad, they might even end up impeaching him.
Enjoy the new swamp. The Donald had just made it 10 times bigger.
Don’t worry boots, O’bama took us so low that we can only go in one direction – upwards.
boots, we all know you’re finding it still hard to accept based on your reply. Dude, unless you’re one of the 5% elite in this country no president gives a flying F* about you. If you were to get captured in a jungle out in the Philippines the US Consulate would tell your captors to go ahead and behead you rather than pay them a dime for your return!
I know Keolu, I enjoyed riding the stock market from under 6000 to over 18000. I am taking action to limit my losses when the market crashes as it surely will when Voodoo comes back. Maybe you can make some of your losses back since you shorted the market when a black man took over?
Indeed, good grief, marcus!
Most are “D” voters, same ones that can’t accept that most of the nation has turned “R” They’re in denial and refuse to accept their loss because they’ve been brainwashed after being fed a lunch plate in exchange for a vote. But that is expected in a predominately “D” voting state.
@dragon: “Dude, unless you’re one of the 5% elite in this country no president gives a flying F* about you. If you were to get captured in a jungle out in the Philippines the US Consulate would tell your captors to go ahead and behead you rather than pay them a dime for your return!”
That is such an unkind statement. It’s the holiday season. Doesn’t the spirit of goodwill mean anything to you? Maybe you are unhappy fearing that no one gives an “f” about you? Please don’t take it out on others. There are people around that could help you.
“Most are “D” voters, same ones that can’t accept that most of the nation has turned “R” They’re in denial and refuse to accept their loss because they’ve been brainwashed after being fed a lunch plate in exchange for a vote. But that is expected in a predominately “D” voting state.”
That’s rich coming from the kind of people who can’t let a day go by w/o making some crack about the the president. It’s been that way since I’ve been subscriber. Every single little thing he’s done, however innocuous (like if he went out shopping). Those people could not “accept” his presidency for 8 long tiresome years, yet they now expect people to bend over backwards and not complain about the new guy. You can dish it out but you sure can’t take it. Tip: if you want to be treated with respect, you have to treat people respectfully. Think about it.
IRT Tracey Scott: Did you figure this out all on your own?
It’s more like the roads wear out the cars!
LOL!!!!
LMAO, here on Gilligan’s Island, soo true. The pot holes alone will damage your cars’ struts!
Mr. Sanada, You don’t see that many cyclists on the road because Hawaii is probably the most unfriendly place in the US to ride a bicycle. I have done Ironman races in a number of different countries and put on tens of thousands of bicycle miles. I’ve never seen a more dangerous place to ride than Oahu. In fact, my wife (also a multiple Ironman competitor) and I always joked that the best time to do an around-the-island ride was Super Bowl Sunday when all of the whacko drunks were glued to their TVs.
Cello, you prove my point that most cyclists on Oahu are recreational, not commuter. What other hobby on Oahu demands such a high level of maintenance as bicyclists? If you ride to stay in shape, use a stationary bike. If riding on Oahu is so dangerous and you continue to pursue it, you are a driver’s sneeze away from misery.
After all, though, riding a bike around Oahu is just beautiful. You really get a chance to see our island home. Of course, riding up Haleiwa hill is quite an experience. One must keep one’s mouth closed to avoid inhaling pineapple bugs. It is however a neat experience. Going down Kaukonahua is very much like skiing at Alta. It requires the same attention to detail but is also very exhilarating.
Oh and I respectfully add that I proved no such point. I would have been quite happy to commute to work by bicycle and in fact, I did so many times. Of course my work was only about two miles away and I had the luxury of being able to store my bike in my office.
Most cyclists on Oahu are recreational, not commuter because there is no bike lanes! I’ve lived in cities with extensive bike pathways, trust me, it worked and lot’s of people started to commute on them. The only reason I don’t ride my bike here on Oahu for any distance is due to the lack of safe paths or even single track riding paths.
Does your employer provide you with use of a shower?
My employer in CA about 30 years ago installed a several shower stalls for both sexes to clean up after the ride in. IIRC there was one mop closet on each floor and the company converted the bottom floor closet.
Only two had started riding in but IIRC management looked at it as a bene to work at our company and it would help with the parking problem. Also cyclists said they had more energy for their jobs.
Eventually with 5-10 less cars in the lot, at least I didn’t have to arrive so early to be insured a parking stall.
We probably hired better people and reduced turn over – at least the ones that were riding in.
islandsun, some firms do but for those that don’t try to look for a gym you could join near your workplace. Fortunately, most of my employers were Fortune 100 firms and most provided corporate GYMs with showers on premises. For those that don’t have any option to shower you might be just fine with a quick wipe down with a towel and change clothes in the office restroom 🙂
IRT Mary J. Culvyhouse:
You are spot on. The city wanted to mislead the people on Oahu about the rail benefits and they did a great job. Even now there are people who think rail will solve our traffic issues. It won’t.
HART and mayor Caldwell have no plan. They more likely don’t have a clue. Every few months, we keep reading reports about the cost of rail going up.
This was the only part of the city’s plan that worked. Build it until we reach the point of no return.
Wonder what line Krookwell concocted to Territorial Savings to justify his $200k ++ part-time “service” gig???
He’s building the rail, which is rewarding many people far in excess of the 200K he receives there.
Kickbacks for Krook are probably in the millions. I bet those cash counting machines and the safety deposits boxes at the bank he consults at are coming in real handy to deal with all that inflow of cold hard cash in those brown Aloha envelopers.
Bike riders should pay their fair share no exceptions, no excuses. Real bike riders dont need a lane to ride.
Don’t agree, cyclists reduce traffic, pollution, etc. Actually cyclists don’t need paved roads, most would be happy with a single track dirt trail. Another inept “D” cooked up idea that cyclists need so called solutions that they never asked for.
We should use the rail guide ways for bikes and mopeds only. Little to no maintenance required.
Completely agree, I too have been promoting the idea of scrapping the rail boondoggle and turning the existing mess into the worlds most expensive moped, bicycle, jogging path.
If they are going to allow bicycles on city streets, they need to pay for it. Bikes don’t cause wear and tear, but they do goes stressful situations for drivers. The integration between bikes and cars is hard thing to figure out. Bottom line is if the bikes can’t keep up with the traffic they need to get off the road.
While I agree that bicyclists can be a pain, they are really like buses. Busses a also a pain but they are needed as traffic would be far worse if all those bus ridders were driving cars. Same goes for bicyclists. Bikes should be encouraged.
I can’t believe boots is actually making sense for the first time in his life. You deserve a cookie today!
I thought Bootie was a chick? Transvestite?
I’ll gladly tolerate more bikes on the streets when the mental midgets in HNL and HART finally end the Rail Fail fiasco.
It’s part of our rail system. Bike riders can take rail too.
that’s why they’re making bikes lanes, so bikes aren’t on the “road”
But they are on the road. They use one lane for themself that causes traffic. Try driving down King St in the afternoon. If you use the road you should pay. Aloha
But cars aren`t driving in the bike lane… much much safer. Bikes have rights too.
Bikes have rights when they pay their fair share of the costs to maintain the bicycle lane markings, all the other work required to give them their special lanes.
Need to find a way to charge every bicycle rider “their fair share” of bike lane costs. Git’r done.
localguy, better suggestion. Don’t mark or paint the bike lanes so there will not be a need to pay additional taxes. Autonomous cars are already buzzing around on the mainland. Give it a few short years for them to reach us on a greater scale and the self driving cars will safely avoid the cyclists therefore reducing accidents with them on the same roadway.
Add to what you’ve said that cyclists should also abide by traffic laws, don’t cross against the light, and don’t mow down folk on the sidewalk. They shouldn’t be able to slow down a line of traffic behind them that cautiously gets past them, only for the cyclist to jump to the front of the line again at the next red light.
Yes, Tracey Scott, they should charge you according to your weight. Mahalo!
Free preschool for needy kids.
Free lobotomies for weewili’s “needy” kids…
LMAO