What in the world?

[GRDadof3]

I'm planning a trip to Indianapolis with the fam, so of course I have to research the area.

 

I found these insane roundabouts (figure eights?) all along Keystone Parkway in Carmel, Indiana.

 

 

 

You can go to Google Aerial view and follow along the whole highway and see them. They're basically highway interchanges in extremely cramped space (so they couldn't do cloverleafs). They're pretty awesome.

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=carmel,+in&hl=en&ll=39.985883,-86.11419&spn=0.00078,0.001321&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=8.342823,21.643066&t=h&hnear=Carmel,+Hamilton,+Indiana&z=20

 

In fact, in looking around Indy, there appear to be more roundabouts per capita there than anywhere I've ever seen in the U.S.

 

Just in this picture alone, I count eight of them:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=carmel,+in&hl=en&ll=39.977285,-86.150537&spn=0.01766,0.042272&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=8.342823,21.643066&t=h&hnear=Carmel,+Hamilton,+Indiana&z=15

 

 

Indy has the big circle in the center of downtown, so maybe people are more accustomed to them?

[Allison Slater]

More like a pinched loop.  Looks brilliant to me.

[GRDadof3]

More like a pinched loop.  Looks brilliant to me.

 

I too think it's quite brilliant. Instead of a standard concrete-y bridge with 4 big ugly cloverleafs (mostly greenspace that is unusable/wasted), it's a compact "cap" over the freeway that has pavers, wide pedestrian crossings and greenspace. It also seems to "pinch" the highway into a compact form. My guess is that they don't have any plans to widen it to anything more than the 4 lanes it is now.

 

I'd like to find out more about these. Need to do some key word searching.

 

Wow! In one quick search I found that Carmel has 50 roundabouts.

 

http://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=keystonepkwyin

 

Here's a blog entry, "Keystone Parkway is the greenest highway"

 

http://inhabitat.com/keystone-parkway-is-the-greenest-highway-intersection-in-the-us/double-teardrop-roundabout-4/

 

Which has a great illustration showing how many more businesses/homes would have been torn down to make way for a typical freeway with interchanges.

 

Here's the approach to the "teardrop" roundabouts as they call them:

 

[fotoman311]

I too think it's quite brilliant. Instead of a standard concrete-y bridge with 4 big ugly cloverleafs (mostly greenspace that is unusable/wasted), it's a compact "cap" over the freeway that has pavers, wide pedestrian crossings and greenspace. It also seems to "pinch" the highway into a compact form. My guess is that they don't have any plans to widen it to anything more than the 4 lanes it is now.

 

I'd like to find out more about these. Need to do some key word searching.

 

Wow! In one quick search I found that Carmel has 50 roundabouts.

 

http://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=keystonepkwyin

 

Here's a blog entry, "Keystone Parkway is the greenest highway"

 

http://inhabitat.com/keystone-parkway-is-the-greenest-highway-intersection-in-the-us/double-teardrop-roundabout-4/

 

Which has a great illustration showing how many more businesses/homes would have been torn down to make way for a typical freeway with interchanges.

 

Here's the approach to the "teardrop" roundabouts as they call them:

 

 

I'm planning a trip to Indianapolis with the fam, so of course I have to research the area.

 

I found these insane roundabouts (figure eights?) all along Keystone Parkway in Carmel, Indiana.

 

Roundabout Figure Eight.JPG

 

 

You can go to Google Aerial view and follow along the whole highway and see them. They're basically highway interchanges in extremely cramped space (so they couldn't do cloverleafs). They're pretty awesome.

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=carmel,+in&hl=en&ll=39.985883,-86.11419&spn=0.00078,0.001321&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=8.342823,21.643066&t=h&hnear=Carmel,+Hamilton,+Indiana&z=20

 

In fact, in looking around Indy, there appear to be more roundabouts per capita there than anywhere I've ever seen in the U.S.

 

Just in this picture alone, I count eight of them:

 

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=carmel,+in&hl=en&ll=39.977285,-86.150537&spn=0.01766,0.042272&sll=45.00109,-86.270553&sspn=8.342823,21.643066&t=h&hnear=Carmel,+Hamilton,+Indiana&z=15

 

 

Indy has the big circle in the center of downtown, so maybe people are more accustomed to them?

 

My favorite roundabout is in Omaha.  It looks pretty similar in general shape, with more access points.  I think I may have posted it before.  I think I love it more because I grew up with the 7-way clusterbomb the intersection was before.  I still have a little affinity for that old design, because it forced everyone to really take turns and interact with each other.  I can't find a good photo of it, but the previous incarnation had stop signs all around the outside and about 2 or 3 grass triangles in the middle.

 

 

Edit:

Here's what it looked like in 1967...

http://digital.omahapubliclibrary.org/galleries/earlyneb/atlases/atl_010_097.jpg

[wingbert]

Considering how many times I've almost been creamed in the roundabouts near St. Mary's, I can't imagine the trouble people in Grand Rapids would get up to in this one...