Carmel gets high praise from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Here’s why

Carmel is getting kudos from on high.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited the city as an example of innovation in transportation during the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

The subject of praise? Roundabouts.

Before an audience of hundreds of mayors on Wednesday, Blinken recognized Carmel’s implementation of the traffic devices, saying they made streets safer while also being good for the environment.

“The answers to so many of the challenges that our world faces can be found right here in American cities,” he said before commending Carmel and its roundabouts, “which significantly reduced traffic fatalities and also mean that cars emit fewer tons of carbon emissions every single year.”

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Carmel is king in the U.S. when it comes to roundabouts, used since the late 1990s to replace intersections with traffic signals. Cars approaching roundabouts merge onto the circular. If there’s no traffic, there’s no need to stop.

The city said it’s reduced the number of injury accidents in Carmel by about 80% and the number of accidents overall by about 40%.

Video of Blinken’s remarks can be found here. The Carmel shout out is at about 17:27.

The four-day meeting, concluding Friday, had hundreds of mayors discussing solutions to pressing challenges in America’s cities – from public safety to affordable housing – along with keys to accessing federal dollars for projects.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter:@cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives Carmel high praise