Bluffton council heard updates on several bike-related topics on Monday.

Bluffton’s council streets and alleys committee, meeting Aug. 4, reported that bike racks will soon appear in several Main Street locations, encouraging the use of bicycles in the village.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Allen County Health Department’s "Creating Healthy Communities,” bike riders will have 17 places to park on Main Street.

Those 17 parking spaces are planned for:
• Town hall (3 spaces)
• Presbyterian alley (4)
• Edward Jones alley on North Main (5)
• Book ReViews alley (5)

It is anticipated that the village of Bluffton will contribute to the project. The bike racks are on order and there may be additional bike racks installed later. The bike racks are able to be relocated to different locations, depending up demand for parking.

Signage will be placed in nearby businesses pointing customers to the bike racks.

Pathway extension underway
And, the village will soon have an extension to its bike and pedestrian pathway. The pathway board’s 2020 project extends the Bentley Road North Pathway from Richland Drive to Riley Street. That construction is currently underway.

The pathway board will hold a ribbon cutting for the path extension at 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 14.

The Monday council packet is attached at the bottom of this story -