Carmel mayor orders parts of Monon to close for social distancing
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — The beautiful weather Thursday sent people outside in droves to get fresh air during the governor’s stay-at-home order.
But the large groups have also led Carmel’s mayor to shut down part of the Monon Trail.
Crews placed cement blocks at the ends of the trail between Main Street and Gradle Drive Thursday in hopes people would take the hint and not congest the area.
“People need to stay healthy at home,” Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. “You’re welcome to use our other 225 miles of trails, but use some common sense and don’t congregate in groups.”
The closure is a result of the mass buildups along the trail on Wednesday.
“Yesterday was an absurd amount of people,” Mick Deweese said. “Like, I think I saw probably a thousand bikes go by yesterday on the trail. A lot more runners and walkers and everybody’s out, I think because they’re just bored of being inside their house.”
Even barriers didn’t stop people from walking next to the trail or even going around the blockade.
“People aren’t taking it seriously,” Karli Aslop said. “I’m kind of one of those who isn’t. But it is what it is. It’s a virus that spreads like the cold and the flu. We don’t know 100 percent what the death rate is going to be until we get more tests.”
The city of Carmel says with so many people out and about, officials could make the decision to close down the entire Monon Trail, but they’d rather not do that.
“The police have the authority to write tickets under the emergency order,” Brainard said. “We hope we don’t have to do that.”
On the other side of the trail, Indy Parks says even though the Monon is in heavy use, there aren’t any plans to shut things down.
“We have not talked to Carmel at this time,” Indy Parks spokesperson Ronnetta Spalding said. “What we are doing is, again, just encouraging folks to adhere to some of the guidelines that we’ve put in place.”
Both Indy and Carmel stress, if you are sick in any way, please do not go out to the trails or parks.
“We do not want to end up like New Jersey and New York or Italy,” Brainard said. “Or Wuhan in China. We have to slow the spread of this virus down.”
“If you’re coughing or kind of have — you feel like you’re sick or something is going on, we do want you to take notice and make sure you are staying home and are talking to your physician about those things,” Spalding said.
City officials and park staff say you just need to keep in mind social distancing and wipe down any surfaces you come into contact with.