HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0121.001 2024-202602/17/2025
Subject: Bill #28,February 18",11 am -Policy Committee on Public Works and
Mass Transit.
Aloha Members of the Hawaii County Council
I am writing today in support of Bill # 28 which states "An Ordinance Amending
Chapter 6, Article 2, Section 6-12 of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 Edition,
as amended relating to Prohibited Highways for Commercial Bicycle Tours.
Old Mamalahoa Highway, from its intersection with Mauna Lod Street in Honoka'a
to 46-4265 Old Mamalahoa Highway at the department of water supply water tank,"
My name is Jill Andrade-Mattos I have lived in Ahualoa all my life.
I have Big Deep roots here, and would not like to see someone get badly hurt,
or go to prison because of Bike tours having no consideration for our Community.
At present there are bike tours that are using this road, I can understand why,
Ahualoa, is very beautiful, with a majestic few of Mauna Kea, cattle grazing, and
majestic rolling hills.
In the last 2 years I have started to see more and more Bike tours in Ahualoa
these tourist can be very nice, others can be very rude, and then there is tourist that
don't even know how to ride a bike safely, for them its just another bike ride in Hawaii
with Bike lanes and wider roads with shoulders.
Ahualoa is primarily Agriculture, Farming, and Ranching Community. The road (Old
Mamalahoa Hwy) in Ahualoa is very narrow, with no shoulders, winding turns, and
limited amount of guard rails, a very dangerous road for Bike tours. Bike tourist are
not familiar with the road so it makes it even more dangerous.
Old Mamalahoa Road is use by ranchers with 20-24 foot trailers, loaded with cattle to
go to market of to be transported to another pasture, Semi -Trucks hauling Gravel, and at
times speeding cars. The road needs to be updated before any bike tours are aloud on
this road. It is a real Bad Safety issue.
Many times theses bikers are riding 2-3 riders on the road side by side.
If you are driving up the road, they flag you to pass, around turns, blind sections, one
lane bridges, not realizing how dangerous it is on the other side of the turn. We know
what is coming up next, because we have lived here all our lives, so we don't pass. The
bikers get anger as to why we are not passing, at times giving you some undesirable
body language; we know better we live here. We know the danger on the road.
A 20 ft trailer is carrying weight of 12,000 plus lbs, it is 8 feet wide, if one of these
bicyclist are admiring the scenery and not paying attention around a curb, this can really
turn ugly fast. Trailers carrying that kind of weight can not stop on a dime, so what can
happen due to the fact there are no shoulders on the rode the trailer has no other place to
go but to cross the center lane into the other lane and hope there is no cdr coming.
Old Mamalahoa Road is used as a bypass road in case of emergency, (traffic is routed
from Highway 19 to Old Mamalatioa Hwy) if there is an accident, tree down etc. They
detour from Lakeland through Ahualoa to Honokaa, or Honokaa to Ahu.aloa to Lakeland.
When this happens you have people that don't know the road again, and bicyclist.
This is an accident waiting to happen.
As more people find out about this scenic route there will be more tours, more bikes, E-
bikes, bicyclist for 2., this road is not made for Bike tours, it is a dangerous road.
Thank you for your time please help support Bill #28
Mahalo
Jill Andrade-Mattos