Riding a bicycle in Carmel, Indiana (USA)
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- čas přidán 6. 05. 2024
- [Ep. 1026] After I made last week's video, there was a lot of footage left showing how we rode around the core of Carmel, Indiana. I would be a waste not to show more of the (mostly shared) paths in that small city north of Indianapolis so here it is! The earlier video report: • Cycling in Carmel, Ind...
wow, it's so weird seeing people in america...out and about. it's like an actual community.
There are a few others, but they're usually very wealthy communities. Seaside, FL comes to mind. The town is so small and the speed limit so low that many feel comfortable cycling.
a lot of communities do this, i don't get why people think America is just Huston and LA
@@HigherQualityUploads Is Carmel wealthy?
@@efeddwdw9782Yeah . I don’t know why people think this. Parks are packed on sunny days tails are full of walkers , hikers, and bikes even if it is even remotely nice outside. I am always at a park.
@@efeddwdw9782 because the past three towns i've lived in have all been car-dependent and they were nowhere close to big cities
It's so great how much progress Carmel has made. I grew up just north of there and it was nothing like this before they made these positive changes.
Never knew Pickup Trucks were so popular in the Netherlands! :)
Best comment! You nailed it
Carmel is one of the richest areas of the Midwest, it’s nice they can do this, just wish it would expand to include people who can’t afford cars. Also you cycle much slower here than in the Netherlands, which is probably wise. Stop signs for bikes is so silly and so American 😂
Actually, there's an area of Carmel, called Homeplace, that was annexed several years ago. Homes much older and the residents have been there for some time- also not near as affluent as Carmel proper. The Monon Trail runs right through here and greatly benefits the residents here.
Although this is true, there is no relation. It is cheaper too build and to live in than sprawling suburbs. Another example is the Atlanta beltline, which also has other communities. And finally, you become rich if you live more efficiently. The Dutch use their bikes, but are also rich.
Yeah and I don't want to afford a vehicle at all. Too expensive for me. It would be nice if I could live in a community where people ride their bikes around town.
So true. For example in a poor city like Anderson Indiana, many people bike as a necessity to get to and from work, etc. But it is a horrible place to ride a bike.
Wealthy people are creating little bubbles where poors can't afford to be around them. Scary to think what this country is becoming.
Wow, some parts of the videos really looks Dutch! So much for all the people that say that America can never be transformed. This video shows what even just 20 years of progress can do!
This looks good for bicyclists in Carmel Indiana. When pedestrians and bicyclists share the road, it would be much safer, polite, and expedient for walkers to walk facing the traffic; then they can very easily see danger. Seen danger is preferred over unseen danger. AND the pedestrians can then form a single file. In either case, the bicyclist will always pass the pedestrians.
I went to Carmel, IN to see the eclipse too! I keep looking for myself in this video :)
Carmel is literally the only nice in the US town I can find that is walkable, bikeable, lively, well maintained, no drugs/crime/homelessness.
00:55 in that rather low rectangular planter after that 4ft pole/planter at crossing it 'misplaced' to say the least. Seems dangerous...
Totally agree! Should be painted in bright colors.
Traffic calming is for bikes, not cars.
Looks an oasis in the American Midwest desert!
Here is a (much shorter) e-bike ride on a trail called the "tow path" that branches out from this Monon Trail. It leads to downtown Indianapolis, running along a water canal and past Butler University, The Indianapolis Art Museum, and White River State Park: czcams.com/video/30tivT2wcds/video.html
Nice place very different from the standard cities in the Midwest. Just one question. Why all those stop signs for bikes?
I'm glad that Brandon was able to show you our city! Really love your videos and, again, hope you come back soon!
omg a nearly hour long video of Carmel IN! This is going to be very fun, love this place.
To Americans: you CAN go Dutch! Nice work, feels like home
Came back from supper to find this new video out. Even though I know the trails, I am still excited for this!
I know them too!
Have you ever taken the Tow Path down to White River St. Park from the Monon? It's a nice ride! czcams.com/video/30tivT2wcds/video.html
Quite often it looks difficult to tell, what actually is a bike path and what is only for pedestrians - the only difference seams to be the width, as there are no signs and not even any different markings on road crossings. As a German biking across a zebra crossing feels very wrong.
I thought the same - feels very odd from a British perspective as well. I would at least expect some signs to mark which 'sidewalks' you can cycle on. It's also odd to have a stop sign on the cycle path, but then cars are supposed to yield to you at the crossing as well. It kind of works, but it's a bit confusing.
Forgive my multiple posts, I just want people to see. But I debated whether I should reply, but then I have seen a lot of comments here asking this. I don't think you guys understand something. This is not a cycle path. This is called the trail, some people call it an MUP meaning multi-use path. But, anyway, there are no pure cycle paths in this part of the country unless you are specifically talking about bike lanes on roads, and actually Carmel has quite a few of these. I think another thing you might be shocked about, is that another trail further to the east in the city of Fishers, which is about 5 miles to the east, they ask walkers, joggers and cyclists to come to a stop, push a button on a light pole, which will then activate a flashing light for the cars to stop and let you through. This is like every half mile or mile on that other trail called the Nickel Plate trail. Now, the Nickel Plate trail is relatively new (both it and the Monan trail used to be railroads until relatively recently). The Nickel Plate trail runs kind of parallel to the Monon, and they both originate in the city of Indianapolis to the south. Construction is still being actively done on both. These two trails are then connected north in the cities of Westfield and Noblesville by another trail that runs perpendicular to them called the Midland Trace trail. There's currently a bridge being constructed over the White River up in the city of Noblesville which in 2025 will provide a complete loop for you to walk, run or bike. If you imagine Indianapolis being the center of a clock, then you would be able to go from that point to 11:00 p.m. then to 1:00 p.m. and then back down to the center of the clock.
@@Lex.S.theonlyone Most cycle paths in the UK are also shared use paths - there is a standard sign to mark a shared path. Otherwise pavements (i.e. sidewalks) are legally pedestrian only. We are just confused how you are supposed to tell what is a normal sidewalk and what is a multi-use path. Much of the Monon trail is fairly obvious because it's marked like a road with a yellow line, but everything else was less obvious, especially at the road crossings.
@@ado543 There is no requirement for vehicles to stop. The center of Carmel just happens to be more tame than others places. It's more 'common courtesy' being practiced when the cars stop to allow pedestrians and people on bikes to cross the intersections.
I forgot to mention another fun fact about this city. It has more roundabouts (traffic circles, if that's what you call them where you live) than any other city in the world, yes, you read that right - in the world. I specifically checked recently, and it now has surpassed several cities in Europe for having the largest number of roundabouts within city limits. I believe the city of Carmel, Indiana currently has over 135 roundabouts where in the mid-90s it had zero. The mayor - who has been the mayor for the last 20 years - decided it was a good idea to bring them Stateside after his college internship in Europe. He also kept getting re-elected, so, apparently, people liked his style
It's so weird to see a town with not many cars in the U.S. So quiet!
0:55, again no stop. And that gray thing in the middle of the cycle path is way to good camouflaged...
i don't think i have ever seen so many people walking in america (except for times square ofc). Wow, what an improvement!
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better. Ask your local transportation planner and elected officials to support more protected bike lanes and trails. Children should be riding a bicycle to school and not be driven in a minivan.
What are the pedestrians doing on the ciclepaths? Never do this in the Netherlands. You end up in hospital.
Lul niet zo slap xoxo
@@MrAronymous Wel eens in Amsterdam geweest?
So, I debated whether I should reply, but then I have seen a lot of comments here asking this. I don't think you guys understand something. This is not a cycle path. This is called the trail, some people call it an MUP meaning multi-use path. But, anyway, there are no pure cycle paths in this part of the country unless you are specifically talking about bike lanes on roads, and actually Carmel has quite a few of these. I think another thing you might be shocked about, is that another trail further to the east in the city of Fishers, which is about 5 miles to the east, they ask walkers, joggers and cyclists to come to a stop, push a button on a light pole, which will then activate a flashing light for the cars to stop and let you through. This is like every half mile or mile on that other trail called the Nickel Plate trail. Now, the Nickel Plate trail is relatively new (both it and the Monan trail used to be railroads until relatively recently). The Nickel Plate trail runs kind of parallel to the Monon, and they both originate in the city of Indianapolis to the south. Construction is still being actively done on both. These two trails are then connected north in the cities of Westfield and Noblesville by another trail that runs perpendicular to them called the Midland Trace trail. There's currently a bridge being constructed over the White River up in the city of Noblesville which in 2025 will provide a complete loop for you to walk, run or bike. If you imagine Indianapolis being the center of a clock, then you would be able to go from that point to 11:00 p.m. then to 1:00 p.m. and then back down to the center of the clock.
Nice tour. ☺👍
I FOUND MYSELF IN THE VIDEO WOOOOOOOOOOO
LOOK MOM I'M FAMOUS
Okay, this is not related to cycling, but I forgot to mention in one of my posts here that downtown Carmel is full of those little statues of people that are the same height as real people, and they FRIGHTEN me, because I mistook several of them many times for real people. You can see several of them here in the video, in the beginning couple of minutes especially.
Beautiful .....and this in the USA 😮! But, what are these stop signs doing on every corner!
Here's another trail called the "Tow Path" that branches off from the Monon Trail featured in this video: czcams.com/video/30tivT2wcds/video.html
@@ryan330i I don"t really see many people stopping in the front of these nonsenssibly placed signs. And rightly so ! I believe that the priority rules are applied better and more clearly in The Netherlands.
@@ryan330i The "Tow Path" is also a very nice one!
At around 2:30 I think you can hear @AmericanFietser crying out in pain about another 2-lane roundabout.
looks so much like charlotte nc , lol same homes and all man that cool
So many ppl forgot their bicycle.😁and what's up with those 'bermtoeristen' in the beginning of the video, let's set up camp on this thin strip of grass and 'monkey watch'(aapjes kijken)🤷🏼♂️.
Still the best i've seen from the US, so far.
Goed gedaan,Jan keessen(Yankees).🤭
They were waiting for the total solar eclipse later that day. See my previous video.
does carmel have ths\ose bikefiets you can purchase? I've looked into ordering them online but with shipping costs its very expensive. Wondering if this town has shops where you can order from or purchase directly
Bakfiets?
...or cargo bike
Carmel does have multiple ebike retailers with cargo bikes. I am not involved in selling bikes, but I guess someone didn't like me linking to it and erased the comment, so you'll have to search for it.
@@ryan330i appreciate it! when i saw the front cargo bike ta\hat gave me hope because I've only seen those bikes sold in NL and so you'd have to order it and ship it overseas.
You are technically not supposed to ride these trails at night. But I am sure some people jog, walk and cycle even when it's dark. One of the problems in these greenways is that there isn't much city lights in many of the areas if not most. So, having a powerful headlight is very much a necessity
Great city!
Looks nice over there 🙂
this would be great for small towns in Alabama I am a fulltime bicycle commuter
Bicycles, ebikes, electric cargo bicycles, robo taxis and escooters are great options for last mile, short distance travel.
Reduced transportation costs and fossil fuels free transportation.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles by providing SAFE, PROTECTED BIKE LANES and trails. Every adult and child should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. Bicycles are healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. Electric bicycles are bringing many older adults back to cycling. Ride to work, ride to school, ride for health or ride for fun. Children should be able to ride a bicycle to school without having to dodge cars and trucks. Separated and protected bike lanes are required. It will also make the roads safer for automobile drivers. Transportation planners and elected officials need to encourage people to walk, bike and take public transportation. Healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. In the future cities will be redesigned for people not cars. Crazy big parking lots will be transformed with solar canopies generating free energy from the sun.
At 15:18 a STOP sign on a cycle track :-D But I shouldn't judge too much. This depicts life in the US the way it should be: slow paced. A fine effort.
Nice ride, even without explanations
10:33, there should also be a stop sign because the car reaches the cycle crossing. With haaientanden in front of it.
Please do a video about bloomington normal illinois, we have over 45 miles of trail!!
It will be nice to see the northern portion of the Monan go back to rail service when NICTD starts running on it again.
In case you were wondering:
Median Household Income:
Carmel, Indiana $132, 859
United States $74,580
...so not quite double the nation as a whole.
oil train rack converted in cycle lane ?
C'est tellement bien de voir ça ! Surtout dans un pays ou la voiture est reine. Ce sont beaucoup de voie de partage avec les vélos et piétons ? Ici en France on appelle cela une voie verte.
Is it weird that I , an Australian, want to go all the way to Indiana to visit this place? 😂
29:31 is this meant to be one way?
👍👍👍
Olen luullut,että Jenkit ajavat autolla jokapaikkaan,jopa postilaatikolle.😅
Kudos designers for doing lots of nice things, but omg get those mega dangerous poles, pots and other obstructions out of the way, those are devils asking for huge injuries
Those are used to keep cars off the trails. They don't keep mopeds or similar from getting on the trails. If you ride a bike here, beware.
@@edherkless3812 They can place prohibition signs no? ; Americans generally follow traffic rules i thought ? Also pedestrians should have their own infra btw ! groetjes uit Nederland
@@3pan1 People here ignore the signs and traffic signals. In the past ten years or so Americans have become very self-entitled. The smaller the city the more this is true. There are still many respectful and caring people, but they are overrun by those that care only about themselves. This is a car centric country; poor public transportation, poor pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. I have bicycled across parts of European Union, and it has always been wonderful. I will be back to EU this fall. :)
@@edherkless3812 There is a strong sort of 'i declare myself not part of this society anymore' movement going on here, too, but luckily police keeps doing their democratic duties and maintain law and order in firm but fine fashion. As we all know the worst newspapers got read the most however and with an ever majority of lower IQ's rightwing "ideals" wanting the power, the future doesn't look bright at all. The lovely cycling infrastructure here is waiting for you but i'd come in the summer if i were you HAHAHA ;)
Why too many people walk on the bike trails?
Or: why isn't there enough space for walking and cycling??
@@la-go-xy there is space for walking but they walk with strollers on the places distinctly for bikes.
I understand your confusion, and I wish we had the dedicated biking trails that the Netherlands has, but understand what you see in this video represents SO MUCH MORE focus on biking than most US towns and cities have. The entire city of Carmel is accessible by bike on "multiuse" trails that are wider than sidewalks so they can be shared with bicycles. And because the entire city uses roundabouts with divided entrances, you can cross roads without traffic lights and focus on crossing one direction of traffic at a time.
The level of congestion shown in the video is not normal. This is the highest traffic area of Carmel, and especially high due to the eclipse when this video was shot.
@@ryan330i This is pretty good, to be sure. However, if it were like the Netherlands you would have that many people every weekend: so, who knows, maybe this quality of urban live attracts tourists by itself, too...
impressive, so you do it in US, hopefully other car infested cities try to follow soon
Why does everyone walk on the right?
the stop signs 😮😢
Your paths need more lanes! Why is the city not doing anything against this stocking traffic?
0:22 - that stop sign appears to be actually on the cycle path; are cyclists supposed to ignore it?
And what about the continuous yellow line? Overtaking, riding side by side, passing pedestrians, impossible.
Btw most of the paths are not illuminated, so not for evening or night use, pure recreational.
In the Netherlands we ignore all these useless signs. And what are the pedestrians doing on the ciclepaths?
@@bertoverweel6588 No we don't. If there's a yield sign or shark's teeth we stop so we don't get killed.
Nice path. Clearly there is a need for a walking path as well as a cycle path. That's crazy that cyclists and walkers have to share where there is a high volume of people walking. I've only seen shared paths here in the Netherlands where there are few people walking.
I was wondering if the volume is more appropriate to multi-use paths on normal days. This video was taken during the recent solar eclipse that brought lots of people to the midwest.
@@praxedes2 Good point!
I'm a resident of this city. I think we will have to evolve toward separated paths as electric mobility increases the speeds and the number of people choosing something other than cars. But currently all our bike trails are "multipath" trails shared with pedestrians. The Monon trail length is 43km total, running from Westfield (the city north of the one shown in the video) to Indianapolis, a major metro area). For the majority of those kilometers, the "multi-use" attribute works pretty well. On any given day you have walkers, joggers, casual bicyclists, and athletic bicyclists, but the level of congestion is overall low. Even still, accidents do happen. A friend of mine (athletic bicyclist) failed to announce his pass at relatively high speed to a group of teenagers ambling down the path, and sure enough, one of the teenagers made a dramatic gesture and backed away from his group ...right into the path of my friend. Despite the speed differential, everyone walked away from that, except the bike itself.
There are two areas along the trail of heavy mixed-use traffic: Carmel and Broad Ripple. In both of those areas on nice weather weekends you will see the level of congestion as shown in this video. it's a test of your balance to ride so slow navigating people! On Saturday mornings there is a farmer's market in Carmel, with "valet" bike parking. The trail is very congested with people getting to-and-from the farmers market, but the congestion is a welcome complication as the market itself is a wonderful experience.
The most congested part of Carmel shown in the video does actually encourage separated lanes for pedestrian and bike traffic, but Carmel's Monon corridor is a bit of a local tourist destination, and many don't really think about the "through" traffic and will walk wherever is convenient. A little frustrating, but in the big picture, I feel very lucky to live close to this area and have access to it, and "local" tourists help build on that success with additional investment.
@@ryan330i Thank you for this information!
People walking on a bike lane, you won't see that in the Netherlands
This is great by U.S. standards, but even in Carmel it seems like anyone younger than 21 has to be escorted everywhere by a parent.
Weet je wat me opvalt? Een video van een uur en op een enkeling na alleen blanke mensen en behoorlijk wat dure auto's. Het ziet er prachtig uit, en bij vlagen zou ik me in Europa kunnen wanen mbt inrichting, maar er is hier duidelijk geld genoeg om dit mogelijk te maken. Dat is niet de norm. Het lijkt er ook niet echt op dat de paden op forenzen gericht zijn. Het is meer recreatief. Het komt op me over als een soort sprookje. Iets dat op heel selecte plekken kan, maar voor de rest een illusie. Ook zie ik vooral nieuwbouw, dus zoiets implementeren in al bestaande infrastructuur wordt dubbel moeilijk. Maar goed; zeer interessant om te zien!
Helaas is het uiteraard makkelijker voor gemeenschappen met een gezond budget om zulke veranderingen door te voeren. Wat wel positief is: deze gemeenschap kan een voorbeeld zijn voor andere, en langzaam kan er een grotere verandering plaats vinden. Zelf haal ik optimisme uit deze veranderingen, zelfs als het duidelijk is dat er nog heel veel te veranderen is en dat er nog heel veel ongelijkheid is in de wereld.
As to there being "enough money" to make this happen. Plenty of communities make investments in their infrastructure and services to entice higher income households to move into the community. If higher income households are interested in more accessible environments, then communities can be incentivised to invest in this area. That would be a good positive feedback loop and would allow to make budget decisions in support of accessibility and sustainability.
No helmets!
Pedestrians behave like they own the road.
But i guess any road is better then a stroad!
People walking and standing on the bike path was a bit annoying to say the least.
The beginning looks somehow totally unamerican. A roundabout, people cycling and walking, and all this infrastructure for cycling - really amazing. And something else the cyclists have in common with the European ones: they dont know traffic rules. :)
Ech nederlanders zonder helm. real dutch without a helm
However, thre's nothing wrong with a helmet, not even in self-inflicted accidents
0:23, ignored a stop sign..
That's what they're for...
All the bollards, platers and signs scattered along the bike path seem very unsafe. More "cyclists are pedestrians" design? Or a deliberate "if you go faster than walking speed we *will* hurt you"?
When they are not there, cars will use these lanes too.
You overestimate American drivers. They will do anything to access any inch of asphalt. They would absolutely cross all sorts of cautionary signs to either purposefully run over pedestrians, or just use their infrastructure to get somewhere faster.
It's to lower the speed of the cyclists in areas with high pedestrian traffic. I lived in Tucson and you would have a lot of cyclists racing on the path since The Loop had almost 95% grade separation with traffic it's treated like a bicycle freeway. That would cause problems with pedestrians.
Where the path was away from densely pedestrianized areas and going to destinations make sense on bike the path is wider and feels more open.
+1 on the cars who will enter it if the bollards weren't there.
At least, any bollards... should be well visible, not slim grey hazards!
Fabulous trail, but far too many hazards. Pedestrians! Why are they allowed on cycle trail?!
Planters, poles etc. Accidents waiting to happen.
Why do Yanks not seek advice from the Dutch?!
Stupid bureaucrats!!!
So, I debated whether I should reply, but then I have seen a lot of comments here asking this. I don't think you guys understand something. This is not a cycle path. This is called the trail, some people call it an MUP meaning multi-use path. But, anyway, there are no pure cycle paths in this part of the country unless you are specifically talking about bike lanes on roads, and actually Carmel has quite a few of these. I think another thing you might be shocked about, is that another trail further to the east in the city of Fishers, which is about 5 miles to the east, they ask walkers, joggers and cyclists to come to a stop, push a button on a light pole, which will then activate a flashing light for the cars to stop and let you through. This is like every half mile or mile on that other trail called the Nickel Plate trail. Now, the Nickel Plate trail is relatively new (both it and the Monan trail used to be railroads until relatively recently). The Nickel Plate trail runs kind of parallel to the Monon, and they both originate in the city of Indianapolis to the south. Construction is still being actively done on both. These two trails are then connected north in the cities of Westfield and Noblesville by another trail that runs perpendicular to them called the Midland Trace trail. There's currently a bridge being constructed over the White River up in the city of Noblesville which in 2025 will provide a complete loop for you to walk, run or bike. If you imagine Indianapolis being the center of a clock, then you would be able to go from that point to 11:00 p.m. then to 1:00 p.m. and then back down to the center of the clock.
First couple on motorcycles, not real bicycles. Lazy.
So the solution to bikes on the road is to move them onto the sidewalks where they can harass pedestrians? I think I'll give Carmel a pass.
Not an ideal situation but a pedestrian-cyclist collision is significantly less dangerous than a car-cyclist collision for sure.
Please give SOME credit. They are wiiider sidewalks than normal 🙂
@@ryan330i Well, we certainly wouldn't want to disrupt the car traffic with a separated and protected bike lane. Bikes are vehicles and belong in the street.
Ugly truth, modifying pedestrian infra for bikes is cheaper than changing car infra.
@@delftfietser I'm afraid you're correct. Much happier cycling in your name sake (Delft). Heading to Lieden in a few weeks.
What's with all the bell ringing. Chill.
Someone has never been to the Netherlands...