Bike to Earth Day

Bike to Earth Day in Downtown Indy

A Pedal & Park bike corral will offer area cyclists free secured parking at the 28th annual Earth Day Indiana festival, the state's largest one-day environmental event and the area's first free outdoor festival of the year. The festival will take place on Saturday, April 25th between 11 a.m. and 4 p. m. at the American Legion Mall and Veterans' Memorial Plaza in downtown Indianapolis (Meridian and North Streets). Although its purpose is to serve as a forum for the exchange of environmental information, the event attracted more than 18,000 last year with its mix of music, food, arts & crafts and family fun.

"This year's theme is 'Live Green & Prosper,' "Thousands of people will descend on the Earth Day Indiana Festival to learn how they can live a healthier lifestyle, save energy and money, protect natural resources and join groups that make our community a better place," explained Stephen Sellers, Executive Director of Earth Day Indiana, Inc. (EDII), the not-for-profit organization hosting the event."That's why we're partnering with the region's primary transportation planner, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), to provide free, secured bike parking to those who pedal to the plaza," he said. "There's no resource more renewable than foot and pedal power. So, with Bike-To-Work Week & the Mayors Bike Ride just around the corner, we hope people will leave their cars at home and try pedaling downtown."

Volunteers will monitor the free bike parking corral at the plaza's Pennsylvania & North Streets entrance. Corral personnel will be sheltered from the sun by MPO-provided tents which will also house transportation-related literature and give-aways. As sponsor, the MPO will pay EDII a $1 parking fee for each bike checked or a lump sum of $300, whichever is greater, to support their mutual missions of alternative transportation and environmental conservation.

"Bicycling as a means of transportation can ease traffic congestion and its related air quality issues," noted Lori Miser, MPO Executive Director. "It also helps address the region's health concerns and demand for greater mobility options.

This is the seventh year the MPO has sponsored Pedal & Park bike corrals. The program was founded by the Greenways Foundation to encourage use of non-motorized transportation alternatives, promote activity on Indy Greenways, dispense relevant recreational literature, and raise funds for its partnering not-for-profit organizations. The Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA) is instrumental in coordinating most corral volunteer supervision. Upcoming Pedal & Park events include; Bike to Work Day, May 15th, Broad Ripple Art Fair, May 16-17, Tour de Cure, June 13th , Talbot Street Fair, June 13-14, Carmelfest, July 3-4, Indiana State Fair, August 7-23, Mass Ave Criterium, August 15, Feast of Lanterns at Spades Park, August 29, Penrod Arts Fair, September 12, Hoosier Outdoor Expo (Ft. Harrison State Park), September 25-27, Carmel International Arts Festival, September 26-27

For more information, visit www.pedalandpark.org.