The energetic Maui Bicycle Leagues (MBL) arranged a meeting this morning  (10/21/15) with the Department of Public Works (DPW) concerning bicycling improvements in our area. The discussion concerned priorities in actions and specific locations, & MBL attempted to offer “low hanging fruit’ of the least expensive actions department could achieve soon, as well as some more extensive, expensive ones for a longer term.

KCA was invited to meet initially with MBL S Maui reps to help plan for this meeting & again to the meeting itself today. So we joined with two S Maui MBL reps at the DPW room with top Department engineer Nolly Yagin, who we all found cordial and helpful.

Nolly suggested the group, under the umbrella of the MBL organization, receive the department’s tentative plans for 3 projects once completed, and either approve or offer modifications, which we found to be marvelous

The three simpler projects were for some kind of signage, such as bike path roadside signs, “shared road” (contain graphic of bicyclist) painted on center of traffic lane on roadway or something similar on three street segments:

Ohukai Rd between SKR and P Hwy; SKR between Ohukai and NKR (Nolly suggested extending this south to Kaonoulu, which was endorsed, of course) and E Welakahao Rd between SKR an P Hwy. Nolly advised these might be accomplished with in this fiscal year before June 30, 2016.

The two major proposed projects (and long time KCA favorites) involve greeway between Kaonoulu and W Waipuilani (connecting to the existing greenway just makai of Liloa, and greenway extension southward from E Lipoa to Kilohana. DPW is already working on the extension from Lipoa to park entrance, and doing preliminary study to have bike path run along makai edge of park to Welakahao (See   https://gokihei.org/environment/kca-again-proposes-a-safe-bike-path-in-kihei   )