Amid citizen debate Tuesday, the Carbondale City Council approved placing an experimental stop sign at the intersection of Glenview Drive and Walnut Street, and instituted changes in the city plan and city ethics code.

Glenview Drive is a collector street, leading to several smaller streets, running through a residential neighborhood. Citizens living along or near the street have complained about drivers disregarding the posted 25 mile-per-hour speed limit on the street.

The stop sign may not be a permanent fixture, city officials say. A follow-up study will be done to see if the sign has an effect on the speed and volume of Glenview’s traffic.

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Mary Carvell, who lives on Glenview, said the sign is needed because the street is handling more traffic than it was designed for.

I understand that it was designed to be a collector, but I’m sure that nobody envisioned it to be the through street that it is, she said adding that she has seen two recent incidents where children narrowly escaped being hit by cars on the street.

The council voted four to one to place the sign.

We’ve got to try it, Councilman Michael Neill said. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it out and try something else.

Mayor Neil Dillard was not convinced a stop sign would help the situation and voted against it.

City officials said the volume and speed of traffic on Glenview has increased because it is connects the SIUC campus with Main Street.

An Illinois Department of Transportation study of the street indicated that more than half of the traffic on Glenview travels above the speed limit.

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Council members also approved implementing an eight-ton load limit on the street to keep noisy trucks from using it as a shortcut to the south side of Carbondale.

The council also decided to begin negotiations with a Chicago consulting company to update the city’s comprehensive plan.

COMPLAN 2002, the city’s current plan, was written in 1979 and officials said although it is still used, the plan needs to be updated.

Development Services Director Tom Redmond said changes in city zoning and transportation needs make the update necessary.

Dillard said the plan is needed to make the Carbondale attractive to developers.

To get development and financial backers, they’ll want to see a comprehensive plan on paper, he said.

The council unanimously approved an ordinance amending the city’s ethics code.

The new code makes it easier for people with an interest in a company that may be contracted by the city to serve on the council.

The amended code borrows language from the Illinois Municipal Code and will allow council members to have associations with businesses that may be contracted by the city. Such members must disclose their interest and may not vote on contracts they have interest in.

The code also places caps on the value of contracts council members’ businesses may do with the city.

City Manger Jeff Doherty has said the old code, adopted in 1978, did not allow members any leeway whatsoever.