As bike share programs expand, more Hamilton Co. paths planned

CARMEL, Ind (WISH) – As two Hamilton County communities add bike share programs, other cities within the county are doing more to improve two-wheel transportation.

Carmel and Westfield leaders cut bike share program ribbons Friday.

“We will be encouraging our nearly million visitors, hey park your cars, rent a bike,” Westfield Mayor Andy Cook said. “This is just another step in making sure that people are able to use those even if they don’t have a bike,” Carmel City Council President Ron Carter said.

The bike share arrived in Carmel a year ago. The Market District location is now the city’s tenth spot.

“I think we’ve had over 3,000 rentals,” Carter said. “So it’s been very, very well received by the community.”

For Westfield, it’s the first of its kind. City officials said it’s located next to the future Grand Junction plaza.

“What’s unusual about our trail system is we have a point where almost all the trails converge into one point,” Mayor Cook said.

As for the rest of Hamilton County, there’s a push to make new bike paths and improve connectivity. This way, Hamilton County as a whole is more bike friendly.

“There’s 300 miles throughout the community of Hamilton County,” Visit Hamilton County Coordinator Sarah Buckner said. “So you can be on a back road and enjoying the country. You can be on the Monon [trail], you can be just about anywhere.”

Visit Hamilton County officials said the 300 mile number is only going to get bigger. More trails are planned from Cicero, Noblesville to Fishers.

Officials said it’s a trend that is easy to get on board with.

“No mountains, no lakes, what do we do,” asked Mayor Cook. “Well we Hoosiers have to work a little harder.”

To learn more about the Visit Hamilton County trail map, click here. For information on future Fishers trails, click here.

Here’s information on future Noblesville paths:

• Midland Trace Trail: The city is acquiring land along our portion of the Midland Trace Trail, which will connect with Westfield’s portion at Gray Road. It will take a few years to reach from the west side of the city to downtown, but once it is completed residents will be able to use trails to get from the heart of our city to the Monon Trail and down to Indianapolis.
• Levee Trail: Noblesville is also looking to create a trail near Morse Reservoir from Morse Beach Park to the Cicero border. The trail is broken down into three phases and will provide a trail connection north (once Cicero’s portion is built)