The City of Carmel is once again joining the annual celebration of National Roundabouts Week, September 18 to 22, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration. This week is set aside each year to help promote safety through the use of roundabouts and to educate the public on their many benefits.
Brainard
“Roundabouts in Carmel have saved dozens of lives by reducing the fatality rate to one-sixth that of the US average,” Mayor Jim Brainard said. “Roundabouts have also saved our taxpayers tremendous amounts of money because roundabouts move 50 percent more cars per hour, reducing the need to add additional lanes, at the cost of millions, to get more cars through the green cycle of a traffic signal. Roundabouts are also better for the environment and residents with lung diseases because cars are not sitting and idling at stoplights spewing fumes and wasting fuel.”
Carmel currently has 148 roundabouts with more planned in the coming years. The city of about 103,000 residents – and another 55,000 daily commuters coming here – is down to just eight remaining traffic lights.
This year, the tradition continued by kicking off Roundabouts Week with Bike Carmel’s annual Roundabout Bike Ride sponsored by IU Health North. The ride took place last Saturday with 25-mile and 50-mile routes.
The fun continued this evening at 7 p.m. with more trivia and free giveaways at the Gazebo Concert on the lawn of City Hall.
On Friday, show your Carmel pride by wearing your roundabout shirt.
Click here to visit the city’s Facebook page for more information.