State officials are working with East Honolulu residents to improve conditions at a dangerous intersection on Kalaniana'ole Highway that neighbors say is an accident waiting to happen.

The problem area is where Niuiki Circle intersects the makai side of Kalaniana'ole Highway, across from the Niu Valley Shopping Center KFC restaurant.

Residents in that neighborhood, Niu Peninsula, say they fear a driver's-side collision while making the left turn onto the highway from Niuiki Circle because of the large number of Koko Head-bound cars on the highway that run the red light in the U-turn lane.

That can be as many as 22 in one hour, according to residents who did a survey on a Thursday morning two weeks ago.

There have been two major accidents at the Niuiki Circle intersection in the past several years, according to an April traffic safety report compiled by the state Department of Transportation. Both involved cars running a red light.

A few months ago, Niuiki Circle resident Peter Backus was making a left turn onto Kalanian'aole Highway when a car traveling down the highway ran the red light. He slammed on the brakes and the car passed within a foot of his front bumper, he said. He was rear-ended by the car behind him.

"If I had just gone through the light without thinking about it, either I or the car behind me would have been hit," he said.

Backus said many Niuiki Peninsula residents now consciously wait a few seconds after the light turns green before venturing into the intersection. But he said he is concerned about other drivers who are not as familiar with the area.

"It's our guests we worry about most, because they don't realize how dangerous it is," he said.

Niuiki Circle is a small street, and the intersection is just a small break in the median, so some drivers may not even realize it is an intersection, Backus said. There is also limited visibility for drivers exiting Niuiki Circle because of tall bushes on the corner, he said.

Many drivers who pull into the left-most U-turn lane also do not make the U-turn and instead continue along in that lane, he said. The speed limit on the highway is 35 mph.

The state Department of Transportation has been collaborating with the Niuiki Circle Community Association on the issue for several months and will appear at an Aug. 7 meeting of the Kuli'ou'ou/Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board to present possible solutions.

Those could include installing more visible signs and improving the striping so drivers on the highway will be more aware of the stop, Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said on Tuesday.

"We want to get feedback from the community first, because ultimately they're the ones that have to drive it every day," he said.

Some residents have called for the state to close the intersection, but "I don't think that drastic a measure is necessary," he said.

Philip Sharp, a Neighborhood Board member who helped compile the recent survey of traffic violations at the intersection, said the problem is compounded during the school year as dozens of parents drop their kids off at Niu Valley Middle School, then make a U-turn at the intersection to head toward town.

"The signage isn't clear," he said. "People don't have enough education about what to do."

He and another resident stood on the corner two weeks ago with a clipboard and video camera. Together, they counted 16 cars running the red light and six others making the U-turn without waiting for the green light, he said.

"It really freaked us out," Sharp said.