That's because it took around 15 months for the Department of Public Works and Environmental Management to post signs informing drivers that vehicles weighing more than 5 tons were not permitted on the road.

Public Works Director Milton Arakawa said the signs got held up in his department's projects queue and hit some snags along the way, but he acknowledged there was no excuse for the wait.

"The signs should have been installed sooner, and we apologize for the delay," he told The Maui News. "A year and a half is way too long."

Residents had differing opinions on whether the signs have been effective since they were posted about two months ago. Some said they still see plenty of tour buses and delivery vans using their quiet residential street to bypass highway traffic, but others said they'd noticed dramatic improvement.

"It's more peaceful without the heavy trucks and their dust and diesel smell," said resident Ed Lindsey.

The law banning heavy commercial vehicles on Front Street between Shaw Street and Puamana went into effect in January 2006. Truck drivers must have papers showing they are making a delivery to the area in order to use the street.

Residents said the ban was needed because, with no sidewalks, joggers, children, elderly people and other pedestrians have to use the side of the road to get around, and large trucks and vans were a safety hazard.

Lahaina Police Capt. Charles Hirata, who had lobbied in support of the law two years ago, said police held off issuing tickets to violators until signs informing drivers of the ban were posted a few months ago.

"I don't think it would be fair to enforce without the signs," he said.

Hirata said most companies appear to be abiding by the restriction, although police have made some traffic stops to catch violators in recent weeks.

"We've warned a few, cited a few – we've also been monitoring speeding on that stretch as well," he said.

Arakawa said the signs had to wait for state approval to be installed on Honoapiilani Highway. Then when they were finally posted, they had to be removed and remade when workers noticed they had been printed with the wrong vehicle weight limit.

But he said the signs were also simply caught up in the department's lengthy capital improvement project system, which is geared to a longer time frame for larger and more involved projects.

"Part of it was just our slowness in responding," he said.

County Council Member Jo Anne Johnson, who had helped pass the ban, said she nagged Public Works officials for months to get the signs up and was as frustrated as her constituents about the delay.

"I thought, 'My gosh, how difficult can this be?' " she said. "But it got done."

Nansy Phleger agreed. The Front Street resident said she called state and county officials repeatedly to ask them to put up the signs.

"The fact that it took 16 months is really dumbfounding," she said.

Resident Peter McKenney said conditions have improved on the road but some companies still seemed to be ignoring the signs.

"It's a lot better, because a lot of the truck drivers are cooperating," he said. "But there are some who either are not cooperating or haven't gotten the word (about the ban)."

Bunt Burkhalter said trucks and tour vans had all but "disappeared" from his end of the road since the signs went up. Even though it took a long time for the law to be enforced, he was grateful.

"We're very pleased the county responded and got rid of the big vehicles," he said. "It's definitely a step in the right direction."

Penny Wakida said that while there seemed to be less heavy industrial traffic, she wasn't sure all the businesses were aware of the ban. About six weeks ago, she saw a "caravan of tour buses" heading up the road.

"I called Roberts to let them know, and dispatch was unaware of the regulation," she said, adding that she hadn't seen any Roberts tour buses on the road since she complained.

Myles Inokuma of Roberts Hawaii said he was surprised by the complaint, since his company's tour buses are supposed to use Shaw Street to access Lahaina Harbor, where they pick up cruise ship passengers.

"It couldn't be ours," he said. "We don't go there."

He added that drivers had been informed they couldn't drive on Front Street in the Puamana area.

Phleger said that, while some neighbors have reported improvement since the signs went up, people who live closer to the road are still noticing problems, especially if they're up and about early in the morning.

She said she was happy that police had begun writing tickets but hoped to see a bigger crackdown that would be a "wake-up call" to the delivery drivers who still use the road.

"I don't think much is happening yet," she said. "I don't think (drivers) are paying attention because they don't have to – they haven't been caught."