As the complaints increase, the district tries to regulate bicycle tours | News, sports, jobs

Aligned with the community plan areas Makawao-Pukalani-Kula and Paia-Haiku, the proposed new rules would prohibit, among other things, unguided commercial bicycle tours, prescribe tours only between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., limit tour companies to only one guided bicycle tour per two hours in each community plan area, limit the Allow drivers to 10 per guided commercial tour and only six tour operators to operate in the community planning areas.

The changes were proposed by Maui County Councilor Mike Molina, resident of Makawao-Haiku-Paia, and presented the bill on Tuesday to the Committee on Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency he chaired.

Molina also proposed a resolution calling on Mayor Michael Victorino to address public safety, traffic, illegal parking and other cycling-related concerns.

Jeremy Hall, co-owner of nearly 30-year-old Haleakala Bike Company and son of founder Ben Hall, said Tuesday that the proposed rules “Cross-cutting, anti-small business and anti-tourism.”

A number of downhill bikers ride down Hanamu Road in Olinda on October 12th.

“We’re not a mainland company that has come up and taking community money with public funds – we’re people who live in the upcountry, my employees live in the upcountry.” said Halle. “We have regulated ourselves over the years, we’ve already changed our group sizes to smaller amounts, we’ve got rid of young drivers in our groups – we don’t take children under the age of 12 – so we’re making changes.”

Although the island’s population has increased over the past two decades since many of these companies started doing business, guided tours have declined and individual rentals and self-guided tours have increased, witnesses said Tuesday.

Some say this is in part because Haleakala National Park limits the number of convoys that enter the park at sunrise and later suspends tour vans from the start of tours within the park lines, which also results in a drop in passenger numbers led.

Marlon Espinoza, who has been in the industry since 2006, said the proposed rules, which would consequently limit participation, “Definitely endanger our job.”

“We literally talk to these people on the way up about safety, about politeness, about showing aloha in the community.” said Espinoza. “I’m not going to lie, there is always at least one bad apple out there, but 99.9 percent of the time most of our drivers listen to our safety tips. . . I am literally asking you not to enforce this regulation. “

Most residents who testified against the rule changes said that it was not the tour or bike rental companies who were to blame, but the maintenance and safety of the roads in the Makawao and Kula areas. They also said they would prefer bicycles to cars.

Aja Eyre, an upcountry resident and keen biker, said that “It’s scary and dangerous to drive on our roads” but that roads aren’t just for cars either.

“If we have an energy-independent future and want to reduce CO2 emissions, we have to be more bicycle-friendly and we have to promote cycling and walking more.” Eye added. “I would rather have 16 tourists on bicycles than eight tourists in a car on these roads that I use several times a day.”

Still, many local residents are fed up with groups of cyclists riding on the freeway or windy roads saying the activities are dangerous and cause unnecessary traffic.

“I love to see people ride bikes and enjoy the area. I think it’s good for everyone’s health, but I believe there should be regulations, especially when it comes to the Haiku Kokomo route. “ said Jasmine Kilborn of Haiku, who supported restricting the time frame, particularly to discourage cyclists from riding during the busy hours.

“These lanes were not built for bicycles, these lanes are even risky for the residents who live here.” Kilborn added. “Visitors don’t know the area, they don’t know the street and they don’t know what they’re getting into.”

There have also been a handful of serious accidents and deaths over the years, said local resident Albert Perez, due to long lines of cyclists filling the road during a downhill tour, drivers entering blind turns or crossing lanes, motorists, who try to overtake cyclists, inexperienced drivers who do not know the street etiquette or cyclists who drag on the road at rest stops.

“It’s super scary and stressful for the residents” said Perez. “These tours must be banned completely and we must provide protected bike lanes for recreational cyclists and prevent these bicycle companies from using public road facilities and at the same time endangering the public.”

Two bicycle tour accidents occurred between 2020 and 2021, including when two cyclists collided on Makawao Avenue and a rider lost control of the bike and fell over the handlebars on Haleakala Highway, according to a letter from the acting police chief to the September Council Dean Rickard.

The Maui police informed the committee in a letter on Monday that the new rules “Will dramatically improve the safety and well-being of Maui County’s cyclists and vehicle operators alike by limiting the number of commercial tours, clarifying permit requirements, and increasing penalties.”

Although federal highways don’t require permits – 75 percent of tours are on federal highways – the bill will help ensure enforcement action is taken, MPD said.

A permit is required to operate on county roads such as Baldwin Avenue, Olinda Road, Hanamu Road, and Haleakala Highway 377. These roads were deemed too dangerous to go on bike rides, Rickard said.

The proposed penalties listed under Illegal Bike Tour Operation will be “Increase from a simple violation to an administrative offense that is satisfactory and justified for the offense”, said MPD.

The Kula Community Association had also drafted a bill to regulate commercial bike travel and rental companies. While the association’s proposal contains recommendations similar to Molina’s, it also suggests enforcing an age requirement and ensuring that every rider is able to use the bike safely, including banning bike tour members or bike rental companies under the age of 14 or over 65 years of age from participating.

Molina said the committee would discuss the issue again on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., but no legislative decisions will be made. The draft ordinance of the Kula community association is also being discussed, as is the idea of ​​a possible merging of the two proposals.

Molina said he would like a decision on the proposed rule changes to be finalized in January.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at [email protected].