The first will soon be the last for stoplights

Carmel may soon become the only U.S. city of 100,000 population without stop-and-go lights.

Well, almost. There will remain a signalized intersection at Main Street and Range Line Road and possibly a couple of others.

Roundabouts are replacing almost all stoplights, and there is an ironic twist here.

Carmel had Indiana’s first stoplight. In 1924, Carmel’s Leslie Haines, a master electrician with the U.S. Navy, returned to his hometown and convinced town fathers that he had an electric stop-and-go signal that could control traffic at the busy intersection of Main and Range Line, which was U.S. 31 at the time.

Being the first in the state, and one of the first in the nation, the signal was unpopular with motorists who were not accustomed to stopping for a red light. The Hoosier Motor Club warned its members of the “signal trap.” But obviously the idea caught on and thousands of intersections became signalized around the state and nation.

Now, just 100 years later, Carmel is rapidly eliminating stoplights in favor of the once-controversial roundabouts made widely known by former Mayor Jim Brainard. Now, other cities here in Hamilton County and elsewhere are building roundabouts.

The intersection where Haines placed his automatic signal will remain signalized. A plaque located there notes the historic first. And there are several stoplights on 146^th Street, but it is a county highway.

Yet to be converted to roundabouts are 116^th and River Road, 106^th and Westfield Boulevard, and 96th and College Avenue. But plans are in the works.

So, Carmel can soon claim to be the first and the last for automatic signals. It’s an ironic quirk of local history.

Columnist Fred Swift has worked in newspapers for decades. He has been sharing his opinions in the pages of The Reporter since it began. Email him at swiftfred19@gmail.com.