Today, city officials will remove "traffic-calming" devices — temporary barricades and curbs put in to slow traffic — on Kailua's Wana'ao Road. The project had angered many in the community it was designed to serve.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann said the project was begun before he took office. He said $12,000 was spent on the pilot project.

"It seems that the problems outweigh the solution" by making it difficult for drivers to get in and out of driveways, Hannemann said. He said the narrowed lane meant that stopped buses blocked traffic, prompting some drivers to drive on the sidewalk to continue.

Acting city Transportation Services director Alfred Tanaka said crews will install more signs there and use speed-sensor signs mounted on trailers to show people how fast they are going. Wana'ao is a major route from central Kailua to the outlying Enchanted Lake neighborhood.

Community members lined up for and against the project. Those in favor argued that something needed to be done to slow drivers. Those against said it took away parking, penalized the residents closest to the project and caused other safety problems by narrowing the road.

The speed limit is 25 mph. A city survey found that 5,000 cars use the road daily, at an average speed of 32 mph, and that 15 percent travel 10 or more miles an hour over the speed limit.

Tanaka said this is the first time the city has removed a traffic-calming project.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.