Carmel Parks Earns Improvement Award

Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation received the Excellence in Resource Improvement Award at this year’s Indiana Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) state conference. This award recognizes a park and recreation agency for its exceptional management of an existing park, trail, natural area, recreation, or aquatic facility. 

CCPR received the award for its accessible and sustainable design of River Heritage Park. Working closely with Weihe Engineers and United Construction Services, CCPR installed over a mile of new, universally accessible nature trails through 30 acres of underutilized wooded property along the White River. The project required careful planning to ensure the proposed trail was designed using Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and limit the ecological impact on the wetland forest. 

“We are honored to accept the Excellence in Resource Improvement Award,” said Michael Klitzing, Director/CEO of Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation (CCPR). “CCPR is dedicated to incorporating inclusive and sustainable design elements in all our parks.”

In June 2001, River Heritage Park was dedicated as “Everyone’s Playground.” A park where individuals of all abilities could play and explore. This sparked CCPR’s focus on making accessibility the standard for all parks and utilizing Universal Design, which ensures spaces are intentionally designed for accessibility. When River Heritage Park was reimagined in 2022, CCPR equipped the park with a new, wheelchair accessible, inclusive playground and a looping .75-mile immersive nature trail that is wheelchair friendly and overlooks the White River.