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Residents press council on safety, narrow pavement on East Sixth Street; staff urges limited changes
Summary
A Benton City resident urged enforcement and fixes after describing repeated parking and encroachment problems on East Sixth Street; staff shared a consultant finding that the street meets minimum local-access widths in most places and recommended leaving it largely as-is while pursuing targeted tree trimming, right-of-way corrections and future grant opportunities.
Rainbow, a Benton City resident, told the council that parking and recent multi-unit construction on East Sixth Street have made it “really hard to get out” of driveways and that parts of the pavement measure roughly 16 feet wide, creating hazards for residents and service vehicles. “We are opposed to a one-way street. We are opposed to losing any more of our property,” Rainbow said, asking the city to enforce property boundaries and, if owners do not comply within 90 days, to remove encroachments.
In response, the public works director summarized a consultant report from HLA: Sixth Street is a local-access road and generally meets the minimum asphalt width for a two-lane roadway. HLA did not recommend “no parking” restrictions at this time and suggested trimming—or only removing where necessary—trees that encroach on the traveled way. Staff also said power service poles that are currently in the roadway will be moved onto private property in coordination with the utility.
Councilors pressed staff with measurements taken in the field, noting that pavement widths vary and include several short segments narrower than the 20-foot preferred travel width; one councilor said the pavement was 16 feet at a neighbor’s property. Staff explained that a proposed fire hydrant location was moved because an existing fence would have violated hydrant clearance standards for adjacent properties, not because of asphalt width.
The council discussed options including trimming or removing trees in the right-of-way, adding Sixth Street to the city’s street plan so it becomes eligible for future grants, and pursuing temporary safety fixes while seeking funding. Staff warned that Sixth Street’s non-federal functional classification limits eligibility for some grant programs, but suggested Local Improvement Districts or low-interest loans as possible funding tools and offered to prepare cost estimates. A past rough estimate for full reconstruction of the corridor was cited at about $1 million; staff described that as a preliminary, not final, estimate.
Council members asked staff to pursue practical, short-term measures (trimming vegetation and notifying property owners about encroachments), to check the exact statutory minimum lane widths, and to evaluate putting Sixth Street on the street plan and identifying grant opportunities. Because the resident’s complaint was also entered under the public works report, staff said the issue will return with additional data and cost estimates and that the city will follow its usual permitting and right-of-way procedures before forcing property changes.
