A committee to investigate the matter is being assembled by the city council, but not all residents are in favor of the change.
There’s not a single residential address in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a small Californian city. In addition to making it challenging for locals to deliver food or give directions, city councilwoman Karen Ferlito claims there are safety issues.
Ferlito said to Nil Köksal, the host of As It Happens, “I say I live at the end of 12th Avenue, three east of Junipero Street.” “Then I describe that there is a big pine tree, a whiskey barrel with some flowers sometimes, and a fire hydrant at the end of my driveway.”
Street names are present, but no numbers. Rather, they give their houses ostentatious names like Almost Heaven or Neverland, and when it comes to giving directions, they have to get creative.
Ferlito is a member of an ad hoc committee that the city formed to examine the address issue, as it has led to a number of problems that were made worse by the pandemic, when fewer people were going out and more deliveries were being made.
The difficulties of being without numbers
The city is not large. Carmel-by-the-Sea, which is just one square mile in size, is home to slightly more than 3,000 people.
However, locating someone’s residence can still be challenging despite these low numbers. Ferlito claims that it can be challenging to find her location and expresses concern about what might occur if she needed a fire truck or ambulance.
“If you’re having a heart attack or a stroke, it’s minutes, even seconds count,” Ferlito said.
Even her constituents have informed her that occasionally an ambulance will arrive at the incorrect residence. Though not all of the department’s volunteers are aware of the circumstances, the fire department, which is contracted out from the neighboring community of Monterey, generally knows where to go.
Then there are the difficulties of daily life. It is challenging to apply for a new credit card, cable, and phone plan when you don’t have an address, and connecting utilities can be a nightmare.
“I have one woman that has written to me that, you know, unless she stands out in the street and waves down a delivery service, they can’t seem to find her,” stated Ferlito.
