The Perry City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that allows for temporary parking areas at their meeting Monday.

City Administrator Butch Niebuhr says this change will allow the police department to block off parking or allow it in areas where it normally is not, without having to go through Council or City staff each time.

“It allows them be able to put parking on a street or take parking off a street” says Niebuhr.

Niebuhr says RAGBRAI is one incident where officers will likely use this new ability but there are several other opportunities as well.

“It could happen because of an accident, it could happen because of maybe a neighborhood event in a neighborhood where police could go in and take parking off the street and say ‘okay there’s no parking on this street for this amount of time’.  They have to sign it or bag those signs and then in the same situation they could actually put parking back on the street so it gives them some flexibility.”

The second and third readings are expected to be approved in time for the ordinance to be published before RAGBRAI.