Upcoming changes in traffic patterns for the city should help ease some congestion and also help reduce speeding in select locations.

Escalon City Council members learned Monday night at their meeting that an additional stop sign will be going in at the intersection of Fourth and Main streets, making that a three-way stop. The area has recently been the site of speeding complaints.

“The area between Fourth and Franklin, we’ve had some recent complaints of speeding going on and we have had a couple of accidents in that area,” City Manager Tammy Alcantor explained.

In a couple of cases, property damage to homes in the area has occurred as a result of those accidents and officials are hopeful that a new stop sign there will reduce the speed on what basically is a straightaway leading out of town on Santa Fe.

“We will go ahead with the stop sign and that should be going in within the next couple of weeks,” Alcantor said.

Residents will need to be aware of the new traffic signage there, as well as some changes coming to the always busy Plaza Avenue location, which features several restaurants and shops.

“We are working with the property owners there in hopes of changing the traffic flow,” said Alcantor.

Lillian Avenue will become a one way avenue, leading in to the businesses on Plaza, but will no longer be used for exiting out on to Escalon Avenue.

“We know we have some issues there and we are trying to address them,” Alcantor said of the shopping complex, which often gets backed up and can be difficult to maneuver in when full.

An extra exit is being planned near the Burger King and city officials will see what impact the changes have before deciding whether to make additional modifications to the pattern at the plaza on the west side of the city.

In other business at their Monday night meeting, the council hosted a pair of public hearings, both regarding expenditure plans. One is for the 2017-18 Community Development Block Grant program, the second for the 2017-18 Home Investment Partnership Act program. Following the hearing, the council approved the fiscal year expenditure plans for each program within the city.

Alcantor also said the city’s concerns with low-flying planes headed toward the Stockton Airport has continued to stay in the forefront, with inquiries this week from Fox40 News regarding the issue. Alcantor added that she posted the most recent information on the planes on the city’s website and Facebook, including a link to file a complaint regarding the planes with the Stockton Airport.