Shaffer opines on Carmel’s first roundabout

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Dear Editor:

Thirty years ago, the first Carmel roundabout was built by a developer.

To this day, the roundabout at Main Street and River Road remains private property. This anomaly is a result of an unauthorized, secret deal by the newly installed mayor in January 1996, according to those familiar with the deal.

The new mayor agreed to allow the developer of the adjacent subdivision to bypass stormwater retention pond regulations if he’d build the European-style roundabout favored by the mayor.

Since that time, the homeowners’ associations have maintained the roundabout and handled landscaping costs on city property leading to the roundabout with no compensation from taxpayers.

And the stormwater retention pond in question still has no plastic under-sheeting, meaning the pond levels vary unpredictably as rain water seeps out.

There is no public record of the number of accidents and injury accidents at that intersection before or since the first roundabout. Yet City Hall imagemakers claim the now-158 roundabouts reduce accidents and injuries.

The Great Carmel Fraud began 30 years ago and continues to this day.

Not to mention the unauthorized ownership of a piece of public thoroughfare.

Bill Shaffer
Carmel