KANE'OHE — The city will install 19 cameras along Kahekili and Kamehameha highways to monitor and help control the flow of traffic during peak commuter hours and in emergencies.

But the $1.7 million project that began yesterday won't have the capability of adjusting light signals as in some Honolulu areas — yet.

That will come later, said Wayne Yoshioka, director for the city Department of Transportation Services.

The city manages 135 traffic cameras stretching from Hawai'i Kai to Kunia and installs more each year. After the Kane'ohe project is completed in May 2009, cameras are scheduled for installation in Kailua, Kapolei, Waipi'o and Waipahu.

In all, the city's Traffic Management Center oversees 800 traffic signals and has the capacity to manipulate 400 of those — all in urban Honolulu — adjusting their timing when necessary.

In Windward, the first step is to install the cameras and the fiber optic lines, then come in later with signal optimization programs, Yoshioka said.

Even with the ability to manipulate signals, the traffic center is reluctant to make adjustments because the ripple effect on traffic could lead to more problems, he said.

"It's a very delicate thing that we do," Yoshioka said. "So when we go in and take control, it's very delicate because it's very easy to send the whole system into chaos."

Windward drivers are skeptical about the advantages of the cameras. Some point to recent traffic jams on Pali Highway and asked how cameras there helped the situation.

But Yoshioka said that backlog was created in Nu'uanu Valley and was not a result of the traffic signals. "It was the backlog of the roadway that was constraining the traffic," he said.

Keoki Leong, a Kailua resident, said he's not sure how helpful the cameras would be for Kane'ohe where he's lived most of his life until recently. He sees the cameras on the Pali Highway but they seem ineffective, he said, adding that he would prefer a contraflow lane to deal with morning traffic congestion.

"I think contraflows are an easy, affordable solution to some of the traffic problems that we have," Leong said. "Hawai'i Kai does contraflow. ... How come Hawai'i Kai can do that but Pali Highway can't?"

James Pollock, a Kane'ohe retiree, said he can't see how the cameras will help Kahekili Highway traffic because the traffic flows smoothly past all the signals between Likelike Highway and Ha'iku Road. After Ha'iku, the traffic stalls because of a signal in Temple Valley Center miles away, he said. Once people get past that, traffic flows smoothly again.

Yoshioka said he is aware of the problem and that may be addressed in the next round of cameras. But the cameras and the ability to manipulate the signals works, he said, citingthe aftermath of a major traffic pileup on Beretania earlier this year.

Calls started coming in about an overzealous contractor closing lanes and causing a backup to Ke'eaumoku Street, Yoshioka said. A quick assessment confirmed the problem and a check of the contractor's permit showed he was allowed to close two lanes, but had three or four shut down. Someone was sent to the area to open the lanes but there was a massive backlog, he said.

"We were able to feed green time to Beretania signals to help clear it out and monitored that ... to make sure we're not jamming up the cross streets," Yoshioka said.

He added that the city is working to bring a traffic optimization program, which controls light signals, to Downtown Honolulu and West O'ahu, but that will take time before it can be implemented.

He said the cameras will not be used to catch speeders or red-light violators.