View From The Outside....(Opinion)

Friday's Indianapolis Star's piece on Carmel's roundabouts had me wincing a bit....similarly to what I felt after reading their piece several weeks ago on the Palladium architecture.  It wasn't that the piece was overtly negative...it just felt a bit snarky.  The photo on the Star's front page of visiting engineers wandering around the 126th street roundabout looked like a zombie scene from Star Trek or the Twilight Zone.  We all know the discussion of roundabouts is not exactly the Israeli - Palastinean conflict but it has become, in many places, the brand of Carmel.  It is true that they are liked and disliked by varioius residents but these facts are not in dispute.  They are safer. They save energy. They move traffic better in almost every location (save Springmill/Illinios & 116th Streets).  While we realize the Keystone Parkway project was expensive, the State of Indiana did pick up the first 90 million of the project....the same State of Indiana who previously wanted to make Keystone a six lane nightmare with stoplights.  The trip from 96th to Smokey Row on Keystone now takes about 4 minutes saving roughly 18 minutes during rush hour.   Saving thousands of citizens 10-30 minutes a day in their lives from this project is no small matter.  An hour plus a week more to spend with spouses, at our kids events....in general enhancing the quality of our lives.  Carmel's roundabouts have been written up worldwide from the Financial Times to Newsweek to name a few.  While I understand they do take some getting used to for the unaccustomed driver, they are ultimately good for our community.  Frankly the roundabout sniping from Hoosier neighbors outside of Hamilton County has become a bit tired....and just not all that accurate.