INDYSTAR: Monon Trail Section Closing

Northsiders Beware!

Carmel -- Many Central Indiana runners and bikers might have to find an alternative exercise venue for several months when a section of a popular pathway temporarily closes to the public.

A section of the Monon Trail, just north of 96th Street to I-465, will be mostly closed to pedestrian traffic until March while a highway overpass is reconstructed, according to a news release from Indiana Department of Transportation spokeswoman Ashley Hungate. The rest of the Monon Trail and Greenway shouldn't be affected.

The trail will be open during the holiday weekends of Thursday through Sunday and Dec. 31 to Jan. 3.

Hungate said the trail likely would be open for use on Sundays through March, but that could change depending on the construction schedule.

Original Article

WRTV: City, Cyclists Tangle Over After-Dark Biking

Yeah, it's another article about the Monon after-dark ticketing. However, this news segment features INDYCOG powerhouse CHRISTOPHER NEWGENT!

INDIANAPOLIS -- Biking on the Monon Trail after dark recently earned about 15 bike commuters tickets from police, prompting riders and the city to sort out confusion about the rules.

Because the Monon is a park, city rules indicate people can't be there after sundown, but avid cyclists don't like the alternatives, 6News' Tanya Spencer reported.

Technically, David Clark is breaking rules if his Monon commute ends after sunset or begins before dawn.
Click here to find out more!

"Daylight's pretty much gone, and I don't get off 'til 5:00," Clark said, as he set off for home. "People were … going to work before the sun was up, and I think most of those people were legitimately going to work,"

"Personally, I think the trail is a safer route north and south than some of the options, like Keystone or College (Avenue)," said Chrisopher Newgent, of biking advocacy blog theindycog.com.

Full Article with Video

More in-depth look at the Monon-after-dark issue

Last week, Nuvo commissioned me to write this article regarding the very hot issue of the after-dark Monon policy. It's dropped today, so swing by your local NUVO stand and snag a copy; you can also read it online:

Let’s bring you up to speed: Two weeks ago, a police officer patrolling the Monon Greenway handed out dozens of tickets to commuting cyclists for being on the trail before sunrise. This occurred over the span of a few days.

Michael Armbruster, a teacher at Arsenal Tech High School, received a ticket two mornings in a row along the same stretch of the trail. Each ticket cost $50. Armbruster says he’s been commuting from his home above 38th Street and taking the Monon for almost five years and has never had a problem until the recent incident.

With his principles digging a little deeper into his pocket than he cared for, he took to the streets on the third day. It wasn’t bad, he said, though getting across Fall Creek Parkway at rush hour can be sketchy.

“The Monon is clearly safer, easier, and more convenient,” he said.

Full story here.

As an update to the article, yesterday at an interview for Channel 6 News, I heard Chief-of-Police Spears say that until the city has resolved this issue and corrected the ambiguity of the ordinance, the IMPD isn't going to be citing after-hours commuting. Boosh!

Guest blog over at TellHetrick

TellHetrick recently asked me to write a guest blog for them regarding the issue of riding the Monon after dark, and it just posted today:

Perhaps no one in Indianapolis noticed the seasonal shortening of days more than the 50-some bike commuters who were ticketed recently when they chose the Monon Greenway as the safest route to work instead of busy rush hour streets. Under the banner of public safety, city policy prohibits the use of Indy Parks trails between sunrise and sunset. This policy closes a major corridor for commuting cyclists now that winter is coming, a problem made worse by Daylight Saving Time. Soon, the rides to and from work will be by moonlight, and what then?

Full post here.

Head on over there and weigh in on it. I'd be interested in some of your ideas and comments. Let's get some conversation started; we've recently been invited to be part of the city's Bike Advisory Council, so we'll be able to take your comments and concerns directly to the city. Ben attended the meeting yesterday for the first time on behalf of INDYCOG and is planning to post about it later today or tomorrow.

Nuvo gives thumbs up for city's response to Monon tickets

On Nuvo.net recently:

It's good to see the city rethink its policy of ticketing pre-dawn Monon bicycle commuters. A rash of $50 tickets stirred up a shit storm in the bicycle community over the past couple of weeks, and now those tickets will be rescinded (if you received one, call Paula Freund at Parks and Rec at (317) 327-7035). Moreover, the city will take a look at revising the ordinance, juggling the safety of trail users with the need to further improve our quest to be a bicycle-friendly city.

Head on over to the thumb and give them 5-stars for this!

City Responds to Monon Ticketing Spree!

We've been in contact with some people from BGI since we posted today about the Monon ticketing spree, and they've just posted good news over at their website:

Last Thursday and Friday (10/29-30) numerous tickets were issued by IMPD to commuters on the Monon for being on the trail between dusk and dawn (my unofficial info says about 20). I strongly suspected this was an aberration, not a policy change, and that turns out to be the case.

Upon notifying the Bicycle Coordinator for the City, Andy Lutz, he jumped on it. DPW, IMPD, Office of Sustainability and Indy Parks are all collaborating to sort this out and take a proper course of action. In the meantime, I am told these tickets will be rescinded and will not have to be paid.

If you, or anyone you know, has received one the these tickets, please send me an email with you contact info including name, physical address, email address and best phone number to contact you. My email address is rclark@bgindy.com. We want to make sure this all gets cleaned up quickly and completely.

BTW, hats off the the City for addressing this quickly and efficiently. We are a Bicycle Friendly City!!

Randy Clark, Bicycle Garage Indy, Founder and President

Much thanks to Randy and his advocacy staff, and to Andy Lutz and the city of Indianapolis, for responding so quickly to this issue, for again taking a positive stand for cycling in our city. This just makes me more excited about the future of the Monon and other commuter corridors in Indy.

Poignant NUVO is Poignant

NUVO gives a big thumbs down to Indy for ticketing on the Monon:

For a city that just received a bronze award from the League of American Bicycling for being “bicycle-friendly,” an incident last week just seems downright UNfriendly. A bicycler, a school teacher, was ticketed on the Monon on his way to work at Arsenal Technical High School last Friday morning around 6:45 a.m. at 25th and the Monon, for “illegally” riding the trail, as he was using the trail before dawn. It was his second ticket in two days. We know this is a complicated issue, in terms of crime, liability and lighting (especially in the evening, given the time change), but if we want to be a city that loosens the stranglehold of the automobile monoculture, something must be done to create usable corridors for bicyclers.

Our buddy Steve "Tool" Allen just had the same bad luck the other day. And though it was awesome that the officer listed the make of his vehicle as "Bianchi," it wasn't awesome that he should have to pay a $50 fine for deciding the Monon would be a safer route to tow his daughter to school in the morning than Pennsylvania.


It comes to this--the city needs to recognize the Monon isn't simply a park, but a highly traveled commuter corridor. Ben and I were just talking tonight about "commuter passes" that would allow people to ride the various Indy Parks trails at night. We even agreed we'd be willing to pay a small registration fee for the privilege, provided the fees go toward upkeep of the trails, the safety and patrolling of the trails, and future trail projects.

What are your ideas to open up the various greenways and bike trails to commuters between sunset and sunrise?

Indy Recreational Trails video podcast

Just saw this in an email from the Indy Cultural Trail org. I've been wanting to do a series highlighting the Monon for a little while now, and this is a definite start. The Monon is a huge benefit to Indy, and one I get to enjoy most every day on my rides to and from work. I was just talking to a coworker of mine about how there's a small little community of headnodding and "good mornings" now among some of the faces I regularly see jogging/walking/riding/etc. every morning on my way to work.



What's fun about these videos, too, is watching to see if anyone I know pops up. I was looking for my Monon-frequenter pals, Scott (Early Indy Bike Messenger Turned Running Guru) or Keith (Red Beard Bike Polo Guru). I didn't see either of them, but if you watch close, you can see an ugly dude zip past the camera around 1:10. My mother would be proud, even if your mothers wouldn't.