It was an historic moment for Carmel this week: Street addresses are coming.

Erik Chalhoub here, welcoming Carmel into the 21st century, or maybe even the 20th century. This week, the Carmel City Council unanimously voted to move forward with numbered street addresses.

The idea of not having a street address is unfathomable for those not familiar with Carmel. How are you supposed to find where you need to go? It’s not only just an inconvenience, it’s a safety hazard. If an ambulance can’t find you during a medical emergency, those precious minutes spent looking could be the difference between life or death.

In this week’s edition of the Weekly, Staff Writer Pam Marino covered the meeting when the council voted to begin figuring out a process for an address system in the city. The vote was met with a “loud round of applause from residents,” Marino wrote.

What a significant moment. Marino has been following the address saga for years with the Weekly, and that institutional knowledge plays an important role in her article. 

Even those who have been adamantly opposed to the idea have come around to it, speaking to the success of a citizens’ group that formed earlier this year to research addresses. And they may have even figured out a way to retain the “village character” so beloved by many Carmelites while still marching toward modernity.

With a major hurdle out of the way, what’s next? Marino’s article has the details.

What’s your take on Carmel moving forward with addresses? Have your thoughts changed or stayed the same? Let us know.