6/28/2006 Media Contact: Whitman Communications,Inc. (317) 262-2660

Carmelfest To Offer Free, Secured Bike Parking

Back by popular demand, Carmelfest will again offer area cyclists the convenience of free, secured parking at its on-site bike corral. Last year, more than 500 cyclists took advantage of the offer during the two-day festival. Again this year the service will be provided by the Greenways Foundation's Pedal & Park program and its sponsor, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

Carmelfest will take place this coming Monday and Tuesday, July 3rd and 4th, on the grounds surrounding Carmel City Hall at Rangeline Road and Gradle Drive. The Pedal and Park bike corral will be conveniently located at the intersection of the Monon Trail and Gradle Drive, directly west of the Civic Square Fountain. Carmelfest is the fourth event to feature a bike corral this season that began with Earth Day Indiana in April and Bike-To-Work Day and the Broad Ripple Art Fair in May.

"Carmelfest 2005 was our first ever Pedal & Park event in Hamilton County and the response was huge," says Andy O'Donnell, who coordinates the program. "With the help of the Trailblazers, we hope Carmelfest 2006 is even bigger."  The Carmel/Clay Parks & Recreation Trailblazers -- a volunteer group supporting the Monon Trail in Carmel and Clay Township -- will provide corral supervision during the event.

Area cyclists can ride to Carmelfest using the Monon Trail, or other appropriate routes, and check their bikes into the bike corral from 3-9 PM on Monday, July 3rd, and 8 AM - 9:30 PM on Tuesday, July 4th. As program sponsor, the MPO pays a $1 parking fee for each bike parked in the corral. Proceeds are divided among the volunteer organizations that provide corral supervision, which regularly include Indy Parks Greenways and The Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA). The MPO also provides volunteer and literature display shelters and communications/public relations support as part of its sponsorship.