Letter: Has Carmel become a bit too much?

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Editor,

Has Carmel Become a Bit Too Much?

As a Carmel resident for over 25 years, yes it has.

What was once a nice city that had both a peaceful feel and yet fine amenities and services has simply become “too much.”

Overdevelopment of the Monon Greenway has turned what was once a pleasant stroll into a confusing conglomeration of bike paths, walking paths and sidewalks. To make matters even worse, it opened up to traffic lanes and the need to take extreme caution to avoid being struck by a car, whose driver is equally as confused as to which way to go. Summer after summer my wife and I must find alternative ways to even bike downtown due to constant closures of the Monon for yet another roundabout or expansion project. This summer, the Monon is again closed for us. It has become “too much.”

Green space and trees have been replaced with high-rise office buildings, apartment buildings, condominiums and parking garages. Small businesses we used to enjoy have either been forced to move or tragically close because the city claimed their location for another seemingly unneeded “mixed-use” development or roundabout. Affordable restaurants are being replaced with high-end establishments obviously catering to a wealthier clientele. Not everyone in Carmel is rich or wishes to lay out $100 just for dinner.

What was once a pleasant trip to a local restaurant now necessitates a 15-minute search for a parking space in a growing myriad of garages. My wife and I were recently late for a dinner reservation simply because we could find no place to park. When we finally did locate one (we drove through three garages) it was a several-block walk in sub-freezing temperatures. Attending the Christkindlmarkt necessitated not only finding a spot in a parking garage but then tramping through muddy construction sites to get to it. “Be sure to wear old shoes” we told visitors. I recently turned into a parking lot behind a restaurant we enjoy only to find it taken up with another garage building project. When you must build parking garage after parking garage, maybe you’ve gone too far. Not the Carmel we used to enjoy. “Rubber stamping” of development by the city council allows it to continue unchecked. It has become “too much.”

I have witnessed a decline in roads with many deteriorating faster than they can be maintained. They are no longer as nice as they used to be. There is an increase in graffiti that remains until it can finally be disposed of with paint just rolled over it. Nothing against the fine Carmel employees, it appears they can just no longer keep up with it. The Hagan-Burke trail is often completely flooded because Cool Creek has been choked down from several overpasses constructed over it in the last few years. Construction debris clogs the creek and there is increased, unchecked, runoff from new developments. Cool Creek can only handle so much. When not flooded, the trail is covered with the remaining mud. When brought to the city’s attention they simply say they can’t do anything about it. It’s becoming “too much.”’

Lastly, and probably to most notable, the road closures and detours are just interminable. One must now plan well in advance because you will run into a road closure with a detour that makes it difficult to get where you wish to go. Sometimes you just can’t. Park your car someplace, get out and walk. For over 25 years this has become only more exasperating, and increasing, as the years progress. It is simply no longer as enjoyable, or convenient, as it used to be. It’s becoming “too much.”

Carmel had reached a good balance point about the time The Palladium and City Center were completed. Plenty of first-class amenities while retaining the smaller town feel. I truly enjoyed it then! Call me an “Old Timer,” that I am opposed to progress, or whatever you wish. But there does come a point where things just become overdeveloped, crowded and inconvenient. Carmel has reached that point, and it saddens me. Unfortunately, there seems to be no end in sight. Now it is simply “too much.”

Thomas Beck, Carmel


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