Benicia Traffic, Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Committee will hear Thursday about a local bicycling guide being developed by the Community Sustainability Commission.

Commission Chairperson Constance Beutel will ask committee members and the public to make suggestions, too.

The public also can weigh in on the ease or challenge of bicycling through Benicia through an online survey, available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BPKMWZP.

Completing the survey takes between five and 10 minutes, Beutel said.

The survey asks the general area of the riders’ homes or bike rides, and whether the riders consider it safe to bicycle from where they live.

It also asks about problems they encounter, such as limited or no space for riders on roads, on bridges or in tunnels; bike lanes or paved shoulders that disappear; heavy or fast traffic; too many trucks or buses; poor lighting; or other concerns survey takers may list.

The survey lets riders also describe problems with riding off-road paths and trails where motor vehicles aren’t allowed.

The choices let survey takers note if paths end abruptly, didn’t go where riders wanted them to go, or were crowded, too hilly, poorly lit or had dangerous surfaces or other deficiencies.

Riders can rate Benicia from “awful” to “excellent” as a safe place to ride. They also can describe their encounters with motorists.

Riders also are asked what makes using a bicycle difficult, such as lack of maps or signage, no place to secure bicycles at destinations, no way to carry the bicycles on public transportation, the presence of aggressive dogs, hilly routes and no direct routes to a particular destination.

They’re also asked what they personally do to make a ride safer, such as wearing helmets, obeying traffic signals and signs, signaling turns, using lights and reflective clothing at night and being courteous to other travelers.

Riders also can describe themselves and their household’s use of bicycles and what local streets they ride and avoid.

In other matters, Benicia Senior Civil Engineer Mike Roberts will talk about the Safe Routes to School program.

The panel will hear reports on citizen requests to improve safety at St. Dominic School, and speeding on West K Street at West Fourth Street, East E Street and Rose Drive.

The committee also will adopt its 2014 meeting calendar.

The Traffic, Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Commission Room of City Hall, 250 East L St.

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