Brian Eason

JacksonMS

The next time the mercury hits 60 degrees, Carmel residents may want to take advantage of the Monon Greenway.

As early as next month, the southern portion of the popular path could be closed for repaving.

The Carmel Clay Parks Board this week agreed to solicit bids on the project, and hired a consultant, the Schneider Corp., to do the design work. Construction will stretch from 96th Street north to 116th Street, but until the project is designed, parks officials can’t say how long the path will be closed or how the closures will be staggered.

“If they do that, they better do it quick,” said Fishers resident John Cook, an avid cyclist. “That part of the trail gets used by runners a lot, too.”

Parks spokeswoman Lindsay Labas said project officials are hoping to minimize the inconvenience; the trail gets more than 1 million users each year.

“We are in the midst of kind of figuring out how we’re going to make that work,” Labas said, noting that officials may try to schedule the construction for times that won’t affect the public.

The construction plan primarily will depend on costs, but likely will include detours of some kind, said Councilman Ron Carter, a cycling enthusiast.

“Now, will cyclists be happy? Probably not,” he acknowledged. “But I know the parks will try to get it done as rapidly as possible.”

While detours will help many riders, Carter said some will just turn around, and others may ignore them entirely and ride past the barricades.

“It’s a hard thing to be able to work with bicycle riders as far as detours are concerned,” he said.

Cook, who often commutes to Indianapolis along the trail, is taking the inconvenience in stride. He cheered Carmel for repaving the trail before it became a dire need.

“It gets a lot of use — I kind of wish Indianapolis would repave their portion,” said Cook, vice president of the Central Indiana Bicycling Association. “It’s worse than Carmel’s for sure.”

Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Department spokeswoman Maureen Faul said Indianapolis’ portion of the trail is older than Carmel’s, so some segments may need updating.

Parks officials also are working with Public Works to assess which areas were hardest hit by winter weather, she said.

Cook says the trail needs to be treated — and cared for — like a transportation corridor, not a park. And that includes getting rid of the at-dusk closing time.

“Almost nowhere in the country does a trail like that close, ever,” he said. “The fact that the Monon closes is a fact that needs to change.”

When Cook takes his bike to his job in south Indianapolis, he rides down College Avenue in the morning, because he has to leave home before the trail opens. But he’s what cyclists call a one-percenter — he’ll ride on roads or designated paths alike, whereas novices stick to the trails.

“It (the closure) won’t affect me too much,” Cook said. “But it’ll affect people who aren’t as comfortable on the roads.”

Labas said the work is the first phase of a multiyear effort to refresh Carmel’s section of the Monon. “It’s been on our plate for a while to repave our portion of it,” she said, but work was delayed because there’s been so much road construction lately.

Labas said officials don’t know how much the total project will cost; Schneider’s consulting contract was approved for $31,000.

Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.