Help Wanted: We Need Better Bike Lanes & Sidewalks on Oahu!

by Leo McMillan-Zilberman

Every time I need to get somewhere, I usually take my bike or walk. I like to bike because it’s fuel-efficient and you can still go fast. Except that when I bike, there are hardly any bike lanes to go in. Most of the bikeways that we have are too small without protection from the cars on the road, which is dangerous, especially for kids like me. When there are no bike lanes, or they’re too small, I have to ride on the street in the same roadway with the cars, or I have to ride on the sidewalks. Sidewalks are a hassle too because they’re very narrow and are full of pedestrians who don’t like sharing the sidewalks with bicycles. Lots of times people have yelled at me to get my bike off the sidewalk

I wish more people would speak up about this problem because I think it doesn’t get enough attention. When people pay their tax, I think it should go to making more space on sidewalks and bike lanes and not to give cars a giant highway to cause more pollution. During this Covid-19 crisis, I have been trying to be away from other people. With the sidewalks so tiny and crowded, it has been hard to avoid other people. I think there should be more bikers and people walking than people driving because I believe biking can be almost as fast as a car, and it gives you a good workout. Bicycles also take up less space than cars on the road and in parking lots, they don’t stink, and they don’t make so much noise.

More dedicated bicycle lanes (like the one featured here) are needed to provide safe riding conditions for cyclists of all ages. The barriers and road markings make cyclists more visible to cars. (Ronen Zilberman photo HonoluluVibes.com)

Another thing I want to mention is that the bike lane should have some rules. A bike lane is like a road, but for bicycles, if someone doesn’t know that and they walk in the bike lane, it can be challenging to go around them. I have even seen homeless sleeping in the bike lane, which is very annoying. Another rule should be that bicyclists should stick to their lane on the bikeway because if someone is biking one way and the other biker is traveling the other way, and you’re both in the same lane, you have a higher chance of crashing.

Finally, to summarize my point, I would say that our communities need wider sidewalks and more of them because some places don’t even have any. We also need more bike lanes everywhere to help people get around as an alternative to roads. Imagine being able to make a circle island tour safely with your family on bicycles! There should be more people talking about this problem so there can be a change. Doing this could help with global warming and give kids like me more space to run around. Hopefully, all this can happen, and together we can make the world a better place.

by Leo McMillan-Zilberman

Leo McMillan-Zilberman is a 7th student Grade at S.E.E.Q.S. (School of Examining the Essential Question of Sustainability) He wants to be a better writer, so he practices making articles about real-life problems. Leo will be very happy if you give him feedback.