The Charleston City Council will introduce various resolutions and ordinances today in order to improve traffic flow and traffic safety in Charleston.

The council will be discussing a resolution that would approve ESI Consultants, Ltd., for designing an additional left turn lane at Ninth Street and Lincoln Avenue.

Mayor John Inyart said the project could start around summer of 2013 if the city council approves of the proposal and the funds to sponsor the project are found.

Inyart said the project is especially important because of the traffic that tends to accumulate at that particular intersection.

“What we hope to gain from that is to reduce the bottleneck at Ninth and Lincoln,” Inyart said.

The city council will also discuss two ordinances that would affect the traffic near and around Jefferson Elementary School, located on Jefferson Avenue near the square.

The first proposed ordinance would allow two more stop signs at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Ninth Street, making the intersection a four-way stop. The same will be done to the intersection at Jefferson Avenue and Seventh Street, if the ordinance is passed.

The first proposed ordinance would also allow two stop signs from the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and 10th Street to be moved so the traffic traveling on 10th Street would stop, instead of stopping the traffic traveling on Jefferson Avenue.

The second proposed ordinance dealing with the traffic surrounding Jefferson Elementary School would outlaw parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk that is located in a school zone.

Inyart said cars that are parked too close to the crosswalk could be dangerous for kids.

“It was part of the conversation with the schools,” Inyart said. “I think these are all designed in the interest of improving safety for the pedestrians, many of them are pretty young.”

The city council will also discuss on whether or not to increase the speed limit on Sixth Street from Jefferson Avenue to Van Buren Avenue from its current speed limit of 20-30 mph.

Inyart said the reduced speed limit was originally put in place because the entrance to the Charleston Carnegie Public Library previously faced Sixth Street and the former Charleston Area Senior Center was located on the street.

Inyart also said the senior center would load busses on the street as well as load vehicles for the Meals on Wheels program on Sixth Street as well.

Inyart said the Charleston Carnegie Public Library’s entrance was moved to face Fifth Street and the senior center moved to a different location.

The city council will also introduce a resolution that would have The Upchurch Group, of Mattoon, design banner poles for Charleston that would display advertisements for events in the city of Charleston as well as for Eastern.

Inyart said Eastern and the city will split the cost of the project. The location of the poles are not yet known.

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu.