Dear Editor,
As you know, for obvious reasons, I very rarely complain about police work. In this case, however, I have to comment on what I believe is not fair to all drivers who receive a fine or whose vehicles are towed away along the Fronstreet or even admonished by the police for parking on the sidewalk in the Frontstreet.
Why is it not fair? Simple, because there are thousands of motor vehicles, yes thousands, driving about daily on the public roads of St. Maarten with unpaid motor vehicle tax, illegal tint, dressed up like Christmas trees, including government vehicles and those of law-enforcement officers, all colours of (illegal) lights and no one does anything about it.
According to the Traffic Ordinance, motor vehicles are not allowed to stop on sidewalks. When it concerns Frontstreet, this is disturbing for me, because of the following. There are sidewalks on both sides of the Frontstreet (on which motor vehicles are not allowed to stop).
On the Frontstreet self it is forbidden to park. But daily there are vehicles which hold up the traffic legally. These are delivery vehicles which are allowed to stop to either continually load or unload the vehicle. But in the meantime, it is not fair to the rest of the drivers held up in the traffic, which, because of the width of the road, cannot drive further.
Years ago, when that situation was being planned, I questioned it. But at the time money was already invested in palm trees. Nowadays, motor vehicles, including rented cars, are being towed away, which is not fair, especially because there is no consistency. I have hinted at this before, but I blame the middle management, Because they should take it higher up and let management know that the signs in the Frontstreet are not conducive to the traffic layout in the Frontstreet.
In the complete Frontsreet there is no stopping on both sides of the road and on the road itself which is scarcely wide enough for a regular van, there is no waiting. This means that one is only allowed to stop for quick loading or unloading or letting out of passengers.
Consequently, if a truck is continuously unloading cargo for a place of business or if a taxi is dropping off fifteen passengers, the traffic behind them has to wait until the process is done in order to be able to move on. I believe that if I can't remedy a situation I should not criticise it negatively.
So I would suggest going back to the old Frontstreet and getting rid of those palm trees. Also, narrow the sidewalks. Because it is clearly visible that bricks did not do the job on Frontstreet, both on the road and the sidewalks (there is no difference between Great Bay and the Frontstreet) we should re-design the sidewalks on both sides of the Frontstreet.
Make them narrower where the road is wide enough and, if it is possible, install some parking meters. Organise the bus depot and if by then you still do not limit the import of all categories of motor vehicles, you will have to construct an elevated parking lot.
St. Maarten is not growing. By the way, the majority of the drivers who the police communicate with via that "bullhorn" laugh, move on and do the same thing somewhere else.
Russell A Simmons
