The County Line
Possibly overlooked by many of us in looking over Noblesville’s new Streetscape Plan to beautify downtown is the inclusion of gateway arches. Arches like Carmel has! Oh no, say it ain’t so!
Do we need arches to tell folks they’re downtown? Those things are expensive with a lot of steel and brick, and lighting at night.
Couldn’t that money be better spent on more practical improvements? There are a lot of ideas outlined in the plan that could be beneficial such as a mini park, public art, benches, more attractive sidewalk and street pavement, and upgrading the alleys leading into the Courthouse Square.
All the city has to do is figure out how to pay for it at a time when really big ticket items like highway needs, parking problems and public safety facilities are facing the administration and ultimately the citizens.
Upgrading downtown is a worthy cause for Noblesville residents as well as the visitors it may attract. But, let’s leave the arches to Carmel, and direct the efforts toward the existing assets Noblesville has, like the riverfront, the Nickel Plate and the Gaslight Era architecture of the original downtown buildings.