Hawaii County committee hears data showing lower speeds, no recent Nene deaths after Kalanianaole changes

Jordan Lerma, executive director of Nene Research and Conservation (nene.org), told the Hawaii County Council Committee on Communication Reports and Council Oversight that the group’s community-sourced monitoring shows lower vehicle speeds and no recent Nene (Hawaiian goose) deaths after the county reduced the speed limit and installed speed tables on Kalanianaole Street.

“No Nene have died since the speed limit the speed limit's been reduced and the speed tables are put in,” Lerma said, describing results from sensor deployments and a community sightings database the organization maintains with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).

Lerma told the committee the organization began in January 2023 and was alerted to Nene being struck by cars in Kilkaha. After being quoted a high price for a formal traffic study, the group built its own speed-monitoring devices at about $300 each and deployed them along Kalanianaole Street. Lerma said the group redeployed sensors after the speed limit reduction and installation of speed tables to compare before-and-after driver behavior.

From the preliminary data Lerma presented, average speeds across surveyed locations fell by about 22 percent and maximum observed speeds dropped about 45 percent; he said a prior recorded high near 80 miles per hour was reduced to 51 miles per hour between two speed tables. Lerma also said the monitoring covered multiple days and that the group will continue tracking compliance.

Committee members framed the Nene safety discussion alongside concerns about feral cats and feeding on county property. A council member asked whether cat-feeding hotspots contribute to Nene crossings; Lerma replied that many Nene strikes occur where people leave food for cats and that island intake capacity for feral cats is limited — "there's nowhere to take feral cats right now," he said, noting the Humane Society and animal control are not accepting feral cats.

“I would be very much in support of a county ordinance to ban cat feeding on county property,” Lerma said during the committee discussion.

Council member Kimball said there are ongoing conversations with DLNR, parks and recreation, animal control and cat advocacy groups to pilot a feeding-management project, and identified Banyas Drive Peninsula as a proposed pilot site; Kimball said a presentation on the pilot is expected in early March. Lerma added that the group operates "CatMap," a statewide community-sighting tool for cats and Nene that the group uses for population estimates and to guide interventions.

The committee took one formal action. Council member Jen Kaguewara moved, and Council member Inaba seconded, to close the file on Communication 36; the chair called the roll and the motion carried 9-0. The chair announced, “Communication 36 is filed, with 9 in favor and none opposed.”

The committee adjourned at 1:20 p.m.

Votes at a glance

Close file on Communication 36 (presentation by Jordan Lerma, Nene Research and Conservation): motion to close file moved by Council member Jen Kaguewara; seconded by Council member Inaba. Vote: 9 yes, 0 no. Outcome: filed (closed).