Background
How did we start?
On a beautiful Friday afternoon, March 31st, 2017, more than two dozen people gathered in Hawi at the Kohala Hub parking lot for the first of a series of monthly bike rides. These rides, organized by Solar Matters, started at the Hub and went to Kamehameha Park. The caravan of cyclists started in busy 4 p.m. traffic and rode along Akoni Pule Highway. The riders rounded up in the park, where each took the opportunity to express the challenges of riding a bicycle on or walking that hazardous thoroughfare.
Picture courtesy of The Kohala Mountain News. Bike ride participants posing for pictures at the ride’s finish at King Kamehameha Park in Kapaau.
Solar Matters, the brainchild of Carter Collins, promoted these rides, which continued almost monthly for the next year. Besides promoting healthy activity, these rides highlighted the need for safe bike paths in Kohala, as called for in the North Kohala Community Development Plan. It is anticipated that with greater awareness and community involvement, action will be taken to advance these bike paths. Collaborating in this effort was the Blue Zones Project, the Kohala Police Department, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the HUB, and Mountain Road Cycles.
Picture courtesy of Laupahoehoe Train Museum. Locomotive traveling along railroad tracks paralleling the coastal edge from Kinau towards Mahukona with a load of sugar. Circa 1882.
Where are we going?
Solar Matters sees bike paths as more than just a safe place for people to bike. With the introduction of drive-on solar surfaces, these paths can both provide a safe way to walk and ride and help power homes. The vision is to transform Kohala’s old railroad alignment into a safe, night-lit pedestrian bike path, that beyond powering its own lighting is capable of producing abundant electricity to fulfill the power demands of the North Kohala community.
Bike enthusiasts, ages young through golden, will utilize a safe, public bike path with educational exhibits and endless opportunities for exercise, transportation and recreation. In addition, the bikeway could provide the community with a variety of locally-owned business options. Along the energy corridor’s right-of-way, such employment generating amenities could include rest stops with bicycle charging stations, an aquaponic farm, a green waste composting site, large agricultural gardens, arboretums, parks, food concessions, a farmer’s market, a bicycle sales and repair shop and a first-aid station. Ke Ala Lā will feature, as well, an abundant number of stations able to quick-charge all types of electric vehicles from farm tractors to trucks, from autos to mini-buses.
Future plans include extending the bike path from Māhukona to Kailua Kona, allowing the IRONMAN World Championship access to an off-road course for practice and competition.
The involvement of the community is crucial to the success of this grassroots project. If you would like to help us in funding, please make a donation with the button below.
History of our bike rides
Supporters
We are grateful that these nine, local businesses supported Solar Matters’ 2017-2018 “Let’s Roll” events. Hawaii Electric Light, Kohala Village Hub, County of Hawaii, Big Island Brewhaus, Bike Works Mauka, Waimea Instant Printing, Blue Zone Projects, SYCO Hawaii, Larry & Betty’s ʻOi haʻna Liʻi Paikikaʻla
