WAILUKU, Maui — Responding to a recommendation from police, Maui Circuit Judge Joel August yesterday agreed to restore South Pu'unene Avenue to its previous lane configuration at the Ka'ahumanu Avenue intersection.

The judge had ordered road-striping changes at the busy intersection in August in anticipation of increased traffic congestion from Hawaii Superferry passengers and vehicles.

Pu'unene originally had two southbound lanes, and two northbound lanes that faced the ferry property across the six-lane road. The inside northbound lane was reserved for left turns onto Ka'ahumanu Avenue, and the right lane gave motorists the option of turning left or right or proceeding straight across the intersection.

August wanted to provide a second lane for motorists to head straight across to the ferry gates on North Pu'unene Avenue. So, he took away one of the southbound lanes to create a mini left-turn lane on the inside and designated the center northbound lane for turning left or going straight. The outside northbound lane was reserved for going straight or turning right.

But left turns onto Ka'ahumanu are the most common maneuver from South Pu'unene, and ever since the restriping took effect, the northbound lanes have been backing up, and some motorists have been crossing the center line to jump ahead to the mini-turn lane.

"Since the restriping, what we've noticed is that there is a lot of backup on Pu'unene for vehicles trying to make left turns onto Ka'ahumanu," said Lt. Wayne Ibarra of the Maui Police Department's Wailuku Patrol District. "Basically, when they restriped the road, it forced all of the cars into one single lane since the second left-turn lane can fit only a few vehicles."

Even though a portable electronic billboard flashed signals advising drivers of the changes, Ibarra told The Advertiser that some motorists who wanted to turn left found themselves stuck in the far right lane by habit, leading to unsafe maneuvers.

"They're so used to making left turns from that lane that they continue to do that," he said.

The state Department of Transportation had predicted the change might have unforeseen consequences and had asked August to hold off on any reconfiguration to see if problems surfaced.

But the judge did not feel the state or Hawaii Superferry had done enough to mitigate potential traffic impacts. A DOT traffic study maintained there would be only a marginal increase in traffic on nearby streets and that no mitigation was necessary.

After deciding restriping was needed, August based the pattern on a suggestion by the DOT's traffic expert, Dick Kaku.

The high-speed interisland ferry can carry 866 passengers and 282 cars, but company officials estimate an average of 400 passengers and 110 vehicles per trip. At Kahului Harbor, 267 vehicles a day are expected to travel through the ferry site, either loading or unloading from the vessel or dropping off or picking up passengers.

At yesterday's court hearing, August did not agree with Deputy Attorney General William Wynhoff that Superferry traffic conditions imposed by Gov. Linda Lingle should pre-empt mitigation imposed by the court. As a condition of a new law signed by the governor Nov. 2, Hawaii Superferry is required to employ trained staff to direct traffic and control signals at the busy Kahului intersection.

The judge said he was concerned that Lingle had delegated to a private entity power over public roads that normally belongs to county police. At a previous hearing, August said he was wary of having ferry employees manage traffic because their chief concern might be keeping customers happy.

"Taken literally this could mean that private security personnel chosen and trained by the Superferry could take over the flow of traffic on public roadways," he said.

August added that his traffic orders were not intended to punish Hawaii Superferry, but to respond to the DOT shortcomings and to ensure public safety, since no new roads or intersection improvements were planned to accommodate the ferry.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.