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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0121.003 2024-202615 February 2025 HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL: 25 AUPUNI STREET, 4209 HILO, HI96720 Members of the Hawaii County Council, Commercial bicycle traffic on Old Mamalahoa Road is a safety concern with potentially catastrophic consequences for the cyclists as well as Ahualoa residents. My name is Anthony Valenzano, a resident and landowner in the Ahualoa neighborhood Hawaii County, District 1. For over a year I have witnessed commercial bicycle tour companies running unsafe electric bicycle tours on the Old Mamalahoa Highway, through the Ahualoa neighborhood. . Roads on the Old Mamalahoa Hwy are narrow with little to no shoulder space. This road also contains many sharp turns and rain forest vegetation that limits visibility for the cyclists and motorists. Cyclists unfamiliar with these road conditions pose a high risk for collisions with motorists. Ahualoa is an agriculturally zoned neighborhood. Vehicular traffic includes large trailers that haul livestock and heavy equipment with agricultural goods. These vehicles with greater length must make wider turns. They take up more space on the narrow roads. Cycling tourists do not know the locations of the sharp turns and are unfamiliar with the hazards that exist from large agriculture vehicles. Tour company cyclists are often seen performing unsafe acts while riding on Old Mamalahoa Hwy. I have witnessed cycling tourists filming their ride with a cell phone in one hand while riding at high speed. This act of operating a bicycle at high speed while distracted with a handheld device is extremely dangerous. Bicycles used by the tour company are electric powered. Many of the clients using these bicycles are not familiar with motorized bicycles. Untrained riders can reach higher speeds on an electric bicycle. Unsafe acts while riding by untrained riders on electric bicycles traveling at high speeds presents a high risk to cyclists and the Ahualoa community. I recommend that the Hawaii County Council outlaw commercial bicycle tourism on the Old Mamalahoa Highway. The narrow winding roads, heavy agricultural vehicle traffic and unsafe acts by tourists on electric bicycles make this a safety threat to the tourists and Ahualoa community with potentially catastrophic results. SINCERELY, ANTHONY J. VALENZANO MH - 111,b