■ Committee also to get update on proposed West K crosswalk

Benicia Traffic, Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Committee will weigh concerns Thursday that vehicles, including SolTrans buses, are speeding on Military East.

Principal Civil Engineer Mike Roberts wrote in an Aug. 28 report that a Military East resident has been talking with city and SolTrans staff about how fast vehicles are traveling near his home.

Roberts explained that the city and the transit agency have taken steps to prevent speeding, but the man is still concerned.

SolTrans staff are expected to attend Thursday’s meeting to discuss whether they and the committee can formulate a response.

The committee also will hear recommendations for traffic calming measures on West K and West Fourth streets, East E Street between East Second and East Fifth streets, and Panorama Drive between Tustin Court and Chelsea Hills Drive.

Meanwhile, the committee will hear that the person who originally asked for a marked crosswalk at West Seventh and West K streets no longer is pressing for its construction.

Though the city approved Dr. Larry Bowman’s request to have the crosswalk installed, Sarah Ingle, another resident, filed an objection July 3, announcing her intent to appeal.

Ingle called the crosswalk “a substantial inconvenience” to herself and her West K neighbors.

If built, the crosswalk would reduce on-street parking to one space for each of the two adjacent homesites, Ingle contended.

Roberts wrote that the property owners had other options, but his department received opposing letters from Ingle and another neighbor, Florentino Mitchell, who said he has seen little foot traffic that would warrant another crosswalk, when full access ramps exist on both Sixth Street and West K Street.

Mitchell pointed out that residents already have trouble carrying parcels from their cars to their homes.

Ingle wrote, “Parking on West K Street is already overburdened. It is often difficult to find adequate space for trash, recycling and green waste cans; visitors to the gym, across the street, fill all the vacant spots on the street during their busy hours.”

In other business, Karen C. Hubbard, owner of Featherer Pet, 1202 East Fifth St., will ask the city to turn the street parking curb in front of her business into a 30-minute green zone so her customers will be able to park.

She wrote Roberts, saying that employees of her commercial neighbor, The Pain Management Clinic, 1208 East Fifth St., aren’t allowed to park in the clinic’s off-street spaces, and that they leave their cars parked around her store much of the day.

“My customers are in my business for no more than 30 minutes at a time, so I think this is the best solution,” Hubbard wrote.

She also asked that the curb in front of the fire hydrant near her business get a red coat of paint to prevent motorists from parking in front of it.

“If there was a fire, the fire department would not be able to get to the hydrant,” she wrote.

Also Thursday, the panel will hear oral reports on Safe Routes to School projects, a proposed pedestrian crossing for Benicia Middle School, a request from St. Dominic School for safety improvements, and reduced-speed requests from residents of the West Manor subdivision and Military West between West Second and First streets.

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.