Nani Kailua Drive speed humps nixed

There will be no speed humps installed on Nani Kailua Drive.

Following a petition by some residents for the traffic-calming devices — and protest by others — Public Works Director Warren Lee has determined the roadway doesn’t qualify for the humps. That’s because it’s classified as a collector road, not a local road, and doesn’t meet a requirement the county uses to determine where the devices should be installed.

The petition for nine speed humps was approved by 54 out of 62 residents who worried about high rates of travel along the steep roadway and whose property abuts the street. The county had marked out sites for potentially installing the humps when uproar from residents who use the street — but whose property does not technically abut it — put the process into a state of review.

A 2004 traffic study by M&E Pacific Inc. identified Nani Kailua as a two-lane collector. Collectors carry traffic from local residential roads to arterials like Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

Some residents of side streets opposed the humps, saying the devices would encourage speeders to instead use parallel roadways like Aloha Kona Drive and Hoene Street.

A half dozen subdivisions connect to Nani Kailua, and for many residents of cul-de-sacs off the roadway, the road represents the only way in and out of their homes, said Hoene Street resident Sue Garrod. Those people deserved to weigh in, Garrod believes.

“It seems Warren Lee took to heart the road classification that exists,” she said. “It sounds like he took into account the needs of the transiting roads and realized the importance of police enforcement.”

Bradley Main, who lives directly along Nani Kailua, went door to door with the petition for the humps. He said the outcome is frustrating, given the county rule stating that only those homeowners whose property touches the street have a say in whether speed humps are installed.

“Eighty-seven percent voted in favor. The homeowners followed the rules, but outside pressure was able to influence the outcome,” he said. “The fact is, there are other collector roads on the island that have speed humps.”

Lee said that Laaloa Avenue is a collector road with speed humps, but the devices were part of the roadway’s design rather than added later through the petition process. Royal Poinciana Drive humps were installed before the criteria was established, he said.

“Based on the collection of traffic data by DPW’s Traffic Division and the Hawaii Police Department, comments from residents in the Kailua View Estates in favor of speed humps and those not in favor of speed humps the consensus is there are a significant number of vehicles that exceed the speed limit,” Lee said in an email to Main and his staff. “DPW will continue to pursue traffic calming measures such as signage and road markings to mitigate the speeding.”