TWO stories shared Thursday's front page: one about neighborhood opposition to a plan to park 350 buses in Pearl City and another about the city's coughing up $193,000 for a new bikeway plan. The bicycle alternative
We can't help anticipating that someday a neighborhood will oppose parking those unsightly bicycles right out in the open.
Of course, that eyesore won't happen unless bikeways become an asphalt reality. For now, the two-wheel network is just a plan. There's already opposition to having one road -- a key connection from Kalanianaole Highway to Kahala Avenue -- widened for a bike route.
I've almost given up the idea of using a bicycle as practical transportation from one place to another on Oahu. The few arteries from residential neighborhoods to places of business -- H-1, Nimitz, King, Beretania, Dillingham, Pali Highway, Ala Moana, etc. -- are off limits to bikes and/or choked with cars and buses. Safety aside, pedaling next to a teeming river of rubber, sheet metal and glass just doesn't have the appeal of coasting down a tree-shaded country lane, does it?
Still, the bicycle alternative makes sense. It takes cars off the road, frees up rush-hour seats on TheBus and it's good exercise, besides. As I watch cyclists pass me while I sit stuck in traffic, it often occurs to me that, with more and more of us working in chairs instead of on our feet, combining a healthy workout with the daily commute is an idea with legs.