What can Gainesville, Florida learn from Carmel?
As places like Gainesville, FL look for ways to increase safety for their citizens, along with saving their city and the public money, a great place to study is Carmel. Why? For reasons like this: Forty percent of automobile collisions and 21.5 percent of automobile fatalities in the United States occur at intersections, according to Federal Highway Administration statistics. Roundabouts have reduced crashes at intersections — by 80 percent for injury-producing accidents and by 40 percent for accidents overall. Another fact - building a roundabout costs about $125,000 less than a signaled intersection, with long-term savings due to less maintenance. One more fact - Carmel, the city with the highest number of roundabouts with 100 - has the lowest car insurance rates in the state! With all of the positive feedback, places like Gainesville are 'coming around'. Gainesville had 11 roundabouts in 2011. As of today, 2016, it has 16 roundabouts and 43 mini circles.
