Nearly five and a half hours into its twice-monthly meeting, a very tired West Hollywood City Council last night postponed taking action on a proposal by city staffers to deal with pedestrian crosswalk safety.

The Council asked the city’s Transportation Commission to review the proposal at its Oct. 15 meeting. The Council itself will take up the proposal at its next meeting, which is on Oct. 20.

While the Council didn’t act on the proposal, several members raised questions about aspects of it, with John Duran, for example, questioning the number of pedestrian walkways with flashing lights or stoplights proposed for Santa Monica Boulevard.

Genevieve Morrill, president of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, also asked the Council to consider the potential impact on local businesses of a proposal to convert an opening in the traffic median on Santa Monica Boulevard between West Knoll and Westmount so that it will allow drivers headed west on Santa Monica to make a left turn and head east. Currently the opening allows eastbound drivers to turn west.

That opening now allows eastbound drivers to gain access to the parking garage at the Ramada Inn, where many park to visit local businesses on the block such as Kitchen 25, Starbucks and other restaurants and shops.

The plan was developed at the request of the City Council with advice from the city’s Public Safety and Transportation commissions after several pedestrians were hit by cars. The death in August of Clinton Bounds, a well-known figure in West Hollywood’s gay nightlife community, while crossing Santa Monica Boulevard on foot sparked a public demonstration and demands at the Council meetings for action.

The Transportation Commission will meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Plummer Park Community Center, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd. at Martel.