WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui judge yesterday ordered the state Department of Transportation to address concerns related to Hawaii Superferry service.

The most urgent item on 2nd Circuit Judge Joel August's list is restriping of the intersection at Ka'ahumanu and Pu'unene avenues to help the flow of vehicles coming off the 350-foot catamaran when it docks at Kahului Harbor. August said the work must be done before the service starts, scheduled for Tuesday.

DOT Director Barry Fukunaga said the agency would take steps to comply with the judge's order by Tuesday, although somewhat reluctantly.

"We don't think it's necessary. We would prefer to wait and see to make that determination before making changes," Fukunaga said.

The judge said that without reliable evidence on the actual numbers of vehicles and passengers expected to use the ferry, he is "convinced" that traffic mitigation measures are needed prior to the start of service at Kahului Harbor.

A DOT traffic impact study maintained there would be only a marginal increase in traffic on nearby streets and that no mitigation was necessary.

The entrance and exit to the Superferry property is on a short north spur of Pu'unene Avenue that feeds onto Ka'ahumanu Avenue, the main thoroughfare through Central Maui.

August ordered the DOT to follow a suggestion by its own traffic consultant to add a third outbound lane to the Pu'unene spur so that there are two left-turn lanes onto Ka'ahumanu and a lane for going straight or turning right.

Fukunaga said that shouldn't be a problem, but making changes to the other side of Pu'unene Avenue as suggested will be more difficult because unlike the spur, that part of the road is heavily traveled and there is little room for additional lanes. He said reconfiguring the road could result in "unintended consequences" and that more study may be needed before any changes can be made.

JUDGE ORDERS MORE

If necessary, the DOT may go back to the judge to ask for more time, Fukunaga said.

August also is requiring the DOT to provide police officers to direct traffic, if needed, for an hour prior to the ferry's 9:30 a.m. arrival until a half-hour after the vessel departs at 11 a.m., until otherwise ordered by the court.

Because the ferry company did not make arrangements for off-site parking for passengers who are not taking their vehicles along, August said the DOT must make space available for ferry customers at the Kahului Airport overflow parking lot, about two miles from the harbor.

The judge also told the DOT to "use its best efforts to strongly encourage" the Hawaii Superferry to immediately obtain an off-site location where these passengers can be shuttled to the ferry property, reducing the number of vehicles entering the site.

COMPANY WILL COMPLY

Terry O'Halloran, director of business development for Hawaii Superferry, said the company would cooperate with the state and county to do what is necessary to comply with the order. His comments came before the release of a Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling that the state erred in exempting state-funded ferry-related harbor improvements from an environmental assessment.

O'Halloran said the company felt off-site parking was unnecessary because it expects that only about 15 percent of passengers — 60 people out of an average load of 400 — would be walk-ons, and drive-through traffic from drop-offs and pickups could be "easily handled" on its property.

He said the company estimated that 39 cars would be traveling through its Kahului facility to drop off or pick up passengers, entering from Pu'unene and exiting onto Wharf Street.

The DOT also is being required to monitor conditions at the intersection and assess the traffic impacts of the ferry operation and report back to the court Nov. 8, at which time August may order additional measures or decide mitigation is not needed.

Before that date, the agency must determine the cost and feasibility of installing a sophisticated traffic signal at the intersection that can adjust the length of each light cycle based on real-time traffic conditions. Fukunaga said the existing automated signal likely can be adjusted to accommodate ferry traffic, if necessary.

BEGAN WITH COMPLAINT

August's order resulted from a complaint filed by the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, the Kahului Harbor Coalition and Friends of Haleakala National Park in a dispute over an environmental assessment for a group of projects contained in the DOT's Kahului Harbor Master Plan 2025. One of the projects already completed is a bridge over a drainage canal that will be used by vehicles going to and from the ferry.

The judge ruled in May that the DOT's environmental assessment of the master plan projects was inadequate with respect to potential traffic impacts.

At a court hearing Wednesday to discuss possible remedies, August heard testimony on possible measures to help ease congestion at the Ka'ahumanu and Pu'unene intersection.

The company estimates a total of 267 vehicles a day will travel through its Kahului site, either loading or unloading from the vessel or dropping off or picking up passengers.

Company officials estimate it will take 15 to 30 minutes to get all disembarking vehicles on the road, but a traffic engineer hired by the plaintiffs predicted delays of 60 to 90 minutes without mitigation.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.