Question: I was biking toward Kaimana Beach on Paki Road bordering Kapiolani Park recently when a police officer slowed his vehicle down to direct me to remove myself from the street and to proceed along the “;bike path,”; or sidewalk as it appeared to me. What gives? I was biking with traffic; I thought bicyclists were allowed to share the road. Also, I have been told several times in Waikiki that no bikes are allowed on the sidewalk, and a friend of mine even got a ticket for doing so once. Can we please have some consistency in the rules?

Answer: First off, you're mixing apples and oranges if you're comparing a bike path to a sidewalk, said Capt. Jeff Richards, of the Honolulu Police Department's District 6, which includes Waikiki.

A bike path refers to a pathway for bicycles and pedestrians that is physically separated from motor traffic, while a bike lane is defined as being part of a roadway set aside for the use of either one-way or two-way bicycle traffic.

A bikeway is a more general term that includes bike lanes and bike paths.

Under Section 15-18.7 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, bicyclists are prohibited from riding along a sidewalk within a business district, and specifically, under Section 15-4.6(c), “;No person shall ride a bicycle, skateboard or roller skates upon any sidewalk in Waikiki.”;

Richards speculates that people assume the Paki Avenue bike path is a sidewalk because so many people walk on it.

But where a bike path or bike lane is provided, “;you should (use it) for your own safety, especially on Paki Avenue,”; Richards said.

Q: Now that New City Nissan has moved its location from the 800-899 block of Ala Moana Boulevard, will that block of Auahi Street, between Koula and Kamani streets, that was closed be reopened to traffic? It makes sense that that block is opened, especially in light of development in Kakaako. Auahi is the only street running east-west between Ala Moana Boulevard and Queen Street that goes all the way from South Street through to the Ward complex (except for that block). It seems that this would be a boon for businesses along this street to have access to the Ward complex traffic.

A: Most of that section of Auahi Street is owned by the city and used as a base yard by the Department of Facilities Management for traffic-coning trucks and other maintenance vehicles.

Auahi Street is within the boundaries of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, but opening up that area will depend on whether the city intends to continue to use it for a base yard, said authority spokesman Craig Nakamoto.

According to city administration spokesman Bill Brennan, the city owns about three-fourths of the segment of Auahi Street, between Kamani and Koula.

The portion just Ewa of Kamani is owned by Victoria Ward, he said.

The base yard is used by the coning crews who lay the traffic cones in the mornings and afternoons, Brennan said.

Because the area is strategically located, “;we have no current plans to give up the property,”; he said.