Lawmakers consider delivery fees to support pedestrian and biking infrastructure

“We believe this bill will begin to address this issue by requiring a small amount of earnings from delivery services go towards a Safe Routes to School program, which supports the installation of pedestrian and bicycling projects within a 1-mile radius of schools,” said Abbey Seitz, Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s director of transportation equity. “For the context of this impact, nearly 80 percent of residents live within that 1-mile radius of schools.”

The organization noted in a written testimony that there were 102 traffic fatalities statewide last year, and 42% of them involved pedestrians and bicyclists.

It said that delivery vehicles with tall, blunt and sloped front ends were associated with an increased risk for pedestrian fatality.

Supporters also include the Hawaiʻi Bicycle League and the ʻUlupono Initiative.