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Dear Editor:
The planned bilking of Carmel taxpayers came to light last month in an unusual way.
Asked to see the data and final report taxpayers paid $120,000 to compile, the Carmel director of community relations let slip the secret many had suspected for years.
Denying the request, the director wrote, “as a private contractor, the data sources (it) used is proprietary and not available to the public.
“This is one of the reasons we contracted with them, because they can get access to data that we cannot.”
So, after more than two years and $120,000 of taxpayer money, the city put out a press release filled with unverifiable claims, no empirical evidence and a legal stonewall preventing an average citizen from having access to data.
The study was to have documented cost benefits from roundabouts.
Fortunately, police traffic statistics are data to which we have access, and they prove virtually no change in traffic accident, injuries or deaths since before the first roundabout was built a generation ago.
No wonder we can’t see the data. No data to see.
Bill Shaffer
Carmel
No increase in injuries or deaths over the course of a generation would appear to be QUITE an accomplishment with many lives saved given the massive increase in cars on the roads & miles driven in Carmel during that time.
Must one ‘see the data’ to understand that ?