Dear Editor,
Many letters to the editor are focused on explaining the complex relationships between electorate and politicians and between interest groups , and divulging various conspiracies The common goal is probably to show deep insight and solutions to apparently complex problems . Only seldom do letters cover really simple obvious issues, like unmanaged sewage or holes in the road. I suppose these do not attract the interest of the writers.
In many cases, however, a focus on these is more productive than on the more common subjects. So in that spirit I want to point attention to a very simple problem that has simple solutions.
My subject is the lack of paint on pedestrian crossings and the unmaintained signs alongside them. The pedestrian crossings are a great thing, and generally Sint Maarten people are very correct in using them and giving pedestrians right of way. But there are many instances where it is very difficult to see that there is actually a pedestrian crossing due to the paint being worn out. An example is the one that is right outside the police station that is used by persons walking to USM.
The solutions must surely be simple! There is no world shortage of road-marking paint. Road markers are easier to find than rocket scientists, or good politicians. As these markings are not maintained the risk to the pedestrian increases disproportionately. Imagine the situation with a pedestrian, who knows there is a legal crossing there because he or she has been using it for a long time, and a recently-arrived driver who does not know there are the vague remains of a crossing, but does not see it and hits the pedestrian. The resulting injuries are typically going to create legal expenses that will be multiples of the cost of painting white lines and re-erecting a pedestrian sign.
This is simple stuff; low-hanging fruit in the long process of making St. Maarten as great as it can be.
Robbie Ferron
