Carmel city leaders push for more awareness on Monon Greenway as popularity grows
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — Carmel city leaders are pushing for more awareness on the Monon Greenway as the popularity of the trail among bicyclists and pedestrians grows.
Two members of the city council told 24-Hour News 8 they have received complaints over the years and have seen the problems firsthand from bicyclists speeding to pedestrians taking up most of the trail space. They believe this is the perfect time to address the problem.
City leaders describe the Monon Greenway as the front door to the city with thousands of people using the trail every day, including Barbara Smock.
“Every day you get a lot of people that don’t say, ‘on your left,’ that are going very fast,” said Smock.
Smock has seen her fair share of problems on the trail and was involved in a crash with another bicyclist a couple of years ago.
“He hit me very hard. I was thrown on the Monon Trail, had a broken collarbone, had to be rushed to IU hospital. I was there four days, had major surgeries, physical therapy for almost a year and had another surgery after that,” she said.
Smock said the other bicyclist was going way too fast and didn’t obey the rules of passing.
City leaders want to avoid that problem, so they’re looking into the idea of adding more signs on the trail. The trail currently has 14 speed limit signs posted from 96th Street to 146th Street.
“We want to make sure they’re educated on the fact that (it is) not good for them or the other users of the trail,” said Ron Carter, a Carmel City Councilor. “We want to make sure they understand what those speed limits are and where they are.”
Carter said this is not about placing the blame, but simply educating and raising awareness for everyone who uses the trail.
“We’ve got to make sure all the different user groups understand their responsibility and understand they need to be courteous to one another,” he said.
Carter and other council members like Bruce Kimball have also been working with the police department to start programs to educate, like a bicycle ambassador program.
“We’re becoming a national bicycle city. We’re spending $23 million to break ground here very shortly to develop a bicycle plaza on the Monon,” said Kimball, who represents the central district.
Carmel Police said they do have officers out patrolling during the week and weekend when there are a lot more people using the trail, and they’re urging people to use common sense.