Editor,
It would seem that the mayor and his city council have done an effective job of defeating the concept of Carmel as a walking city with their numerous roundabouts.
It is a very frightening experience to be a pedestrian in Carmel attempting to cross a street that has a roundabout. Traffic speeds through from four directions without regard for the speed limit or the idea that a pedestrian (be it a senior, child or a family with bikes) might be attempting to cross the intersecting streets. Company from out of town were nearly hit in the Range Line Road/City Center Drive roundabout when visiting the Christkindlmarkt.
The police need to patrol these roundabouts and issue speeding tickets and teach driver responsibility. Also, the pedestrian signs need flashing lights that are activated when walkers enter the crosswalks (visit Clay Terrace for examples). A few thousand dollars for safety seems like a small price to pay when hundreds of thousands of dollars have already been spent for statuary and landscaping.
Given the above, a roundabout at Third Street and City Center Drive near The Palladium seems to be a bad idea as the city would most likely be asking for a serious accident to happen given the amount of foot traffic in that area.
Carole Smith, Carmel
