The votes were fast and unanimous as the Palm Desert City Council, meeting with only three of its five members, rolled through a light agenda in under 30 minutes on Thursday.

Mayor Pro Tem Robert A. Spiegel and Councilman Jim Ferguson were attending the League of California Cities conference in Long Beach.

Among the measures passed by 3-0 votes during the meeting:

Changes to the city's speed zone ordinance that will lower posted speeds on three main roads:

Monterey Avenue, from Dinah Shore Drive to Country Club Drive, from 60 mph to 55 mph.

Fred Waring Drive, from Warner Trail to Cook Street, from 55 mph to 50 mph.

Gerald Ford Drive, from Cook Street to Portola Avenue, also from 55 mph to 50 mph.

The changes will come back to the council for a second reading in October, said Mark Greenwood, director of Public Works.

If approved then, signs with the new speeds should be up within 30 days, Greenwood said.

The council also approved a contract with RRM Design Group to survey and design the Mid-Valley Bike Path planned for the north end of the city, parallel to the railroad tracks from Washington Street to Monterey Avenue.

“We have a lot of health-conscious people in the valley. We need to keep them safe,” Mayor Jean Benson said.

Cost for the bike path is projected at $5.9 million, according to a staff report. Construction could begin in the summer of 2011, with completion to follow in spring of 2012, the report said.

A long-awaited revision of the city's historic preservation ordinance was approved on first reading, with no discussion. It also will come back to the council for a second vote in October.

Plans to add petanque courts — a French version of bocce ball — and pickleball courts — a tennis/badminton hybrid played with a wooden paddle — and community gardens at Hovley Soccer Park were approved, allowing staff to put the project out to bid.