The City of Perry held a special meeting on Thursday to continue discussion pertaining to a bike trail route that would come through town.

The last city council meeting on April 15th saw a resolution for a proposed bike route passing through Perry. A decision was made to table the discussion. On Thursday, the council resumed conversation where City Administrator Sven Peterson suggested the proposed route of the bike trail to come out of Wiese Park to 8th Street to 3rd Street then turn onto Otley Street to 2nd Street until it hits Willis Avenue in order to meet back onto the Raccoon River Valley Trail. 

Second Ward Councilman Jeremy Mahler was a proponent at the last meeting to move the route from Bateman Street to 2nd Street, as it will benefit the city better by directing the route through the downtown area and would only require two turns. Third Ward Councilwoman Barb Wolling believed that there could be both a primary and secondary route for people to choose from. First Ward Councilman Joe Shelly chimed in with support with the route that Mahler proposed, so that people can see the variety of businesses. 

Many individuals spoke during the open forum, where one resident wanted Perry to carefully consider adding signage for drivers to look out for riders to avoid potential accidents, and to make riders feel like Perry is bike friendly. Another resident spoke about creating more artwork as riders come into town to help attract them to Perry. Administrator Sven Peterson was in agreement to place specific signs on the route that would help people navigate to restaurants and shops around town, while At-Large Councilman Chuck Schott thought that people would ultimately choose their own route.

A motion was made from Wolling to designate both the routes that Peterson and Mahler proposed as primary routes with appropriate signage directing people either to the downtown area or a family friendly route that would avoid that.