Sully

[Spaceman3750]

Unfortunately the issue shows up in the urban areas

Yeah, I know the issues.  I have lived with plenty of Canada geese in my areas in both rural and urban environments. 

Run one over to avoid being killed by a semi behind you and you could be in for a nasty fine on top of having to clean your
car.

No you probably won't, unless you purposely go out of your way to hit one or are constantly hitting one.  I have hit a few geese in my lifetime for those exact same reasons.  Called the FWS to report it and have been told "That is nice.  We know the area.  Try not to hit any more in the future".  Safety of your vehicle and the surrounding vehicles outweigh the federal law.  If there is an animal, protected or not, crossing a busy street and you cannot safely avoid or stop before hitting it, then you will not be fined.  In fact, I remember a long time ago (late 90s, early 2000s) the State Patrol in my area were telling people do not stop in middle of I-80 if ducks or geese are crossing.  It is safer to just hit the animals rather than try to stop in rush-hour traffic.  Similar to when the State Patrol told drivers not to stop for the ducks on I-35 in Minneapolis back in 2015.

Call the USFWS or your states FWS and ask them about it.

Eclipse's statement has less to do with what you're saying, and more to do with the state he lives in...