Photo provided by City of Carmel
The City of Carmel has once again been rated the No. 1 city in Indiana for bicycle friendliness by People for Bikes, which ranks cities across the globe based on the quality of their bicycle network (trails, paths, bike lanes) along with survey responses from residents on how they feel about biking in their city. Carmel scored a 55 rating (on a 100-point scale), which tops all Indiana cities. Fishers and Bloomington tied for second with a 28 rating.
Carmel’s ranking puts the city in the No. 11 spot among all Midwestern cities. You can see complete city ratings at this link.
Carmel currently has more than 220 miles of trails and side paths and is adding an average of 10 miles every year. The city also continues to add bicycle parking (currently there are about 4,000 dedicated spaces), bike pump and repair stations as well as a Bike Share system.
Brainard
“We are pleased to be recognized as one of the best places to bike in the Midwest and we will continue to improve as we add more paths and trails to our network,” Mayor Jim Brainard said. “Building a better bicycling culture is important for bike safety and providing transportation choices for people. It is also an important part of our strategy to improve our quality of life in order to attract jobs and a professional work force companies need to thrive.”
The People for Bikes rating system weighs heavily (80 percent of final score) on each city’s bicycling network and where that network leads. For example, high marks are given if trails and paths connect riders to their homes, jobs, schools, shopping districts and parks. The remaining 20 percent of the final score is based on responses to a survey that asks bicyclists how safe they feel while riding, how often they ride for recreation or for business and how they feel their city is doing when it comes to improving and expanding the bicycling network.
For more information about the Places for Bikes score, visit the Bike Carmel website.
As part of the Carmel Bike Carmel program, the city hosts a variety of events throughout the year for bicycle enthusiasts of all ages. Click here to check out our schedule of events. You can also keep up with Bike Carmel on Facebook.