KAPA‘A — A nonprofit community group dedicated to expanding non-vehicular transportation routes urged residents and visitors to follow simple etiquette rules when walking, biking or skating on the Eastside multi-use path. Kaua‘i Path disseminated a list of recommendations — posted
KAPA‘A — A nonprofit community group dedicated to expanding non-vehicular transportation routes urged residents and visitors to follow simple etiquette rules when walking, biking or skating on the Eastside multi-use path.
Kaua‘i Path disseminated a list of recommendations — posted since 2003 at Lydgate Park — to a dozen community members at its meeting yesterday at Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center.
“Wheels yield to heels,” Kaua‘i Path Ambassadors program coordinator Brett Ishida said, referring to pedestrians maintaining the right of way.
The county is constructing a 16-mile coastal path in six phases that encompasses various segments from Nawiliwili to Anahola.
The first phase, a 2.5-mile loop at Lydgate Park, is finished. The second phase, a mostly completed 4.5-mile stretch from Lihi Boat Ramp in central Kapa‘a to Ahihi Point in Kealia, is officially a construction zone, but is expected to be turned over to the county soon.
As more residents and visitors take advantage of these two segments, the need to spread the word on proper path etiquette has reportedly grown.
Stay on the right side of the path except when passing, Ishida said. Travel in a consistent manner and look behind you before changing position on the path.
Keep the path clear, he added. Use no more than half the path when in a group.
As parts of the path run through private property, Ishida said, it is important to stay on designated routes and avoid short-cutting switchbacks.
Kaua‘i Path also offers simple guidelines such as “be courteous,” “signal when passing,” and “respect the path and ‘aina.”
Using a clear, audible voice to announce “on your left,” for instance, when passing a slower path user can avoid accidents, Ishida said.
Ishida, a Kaua‘i native who became involved with Kaua‘i Path four months ago to advocate safe path usage, said he had some “bad experiences” on O‘ahu’s paths — “oversized sidewalks” that created some tension between bikers and pedestrians.
“We are going to have to look at alternative means of travel,” he said, noting Kaua‘i’s growing population and confined land space.
Thomas Noyes, Kaua‘i Path committee chair, said there is a definite need to develop a more multi-modal transportation system on island.
“Political will is the key,” he said, particularly for path options such as overpasses or underpasses across Kuhio Highway.
A Kaua‘i Path Ambassador is a trained volunteer willing to make a time commitment of a minimum of two hours per week on a specific segment of the path, wears the blue Kaua‘i Path Ambassador shirt, according to Noyes.
The next Kaua‘i Path Ambassadors meeting will be at 7 p.m., Feb. 7, Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center. For more information, contact Ishida at 639-4561 or bishida@hawaii.edu.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
