Dear Editor,
On Saturday evening I went to the Carnival Village for the Night of the Hit Makers show.
I wanted to see Tsunami, the band from Aruba perform, so I got into town early as they were the first performance for the night.
To my horror, when I got into town, I noticed that all (and I mean “all”) public parking facilities were closed, including the public parking on the Clem Labega Square.
The parking lot at the back of the Government administration building was closed as usual and all banks had their parking lots securely closed as if someone would steal them. To me, it seemed as if there was a deliberate attempt to prevent people from parking anywhere near the Carnival village as there were barricades, ropes and chains drawn across the front of the Government administration building to ensure that no one would attempt to park there.
The parking spaces assigned to the ministers were barred off with blocks and traffic cones to prevent the possibility of parking in those spots as if the ministers might be coming in to work.
After promoting Carnival all over the world and inviting visitors to come to St. Maarten for the event, we put all efforts in ensuring that when they come, they can't find parking space to attend the event we invited them to come to.
My questions are: 1) Why did we make such efforts to prevent parking in Philipsburg on a weekend during a Carnival activity? 2) Will this be the case every night and during the days of the Carnival parades? 2) Why don’t the businesses in Philipsburg who have parking facilities for their clients leave their parking lots open during the nights that the Carnival village is open and on the days of the parades?
Are they afraid that someone might steal their parking lot? Has it ever happened in St. Maarten that a business place was ready to open for business and found their parking lot missing? If the answer is “no,” then, why not be a good corporate citizen and leave your parking lots available for the people coming into town during the Carnival season? As a matter of fact, you may, if Government allows for this, charge for the parking. I am sure people will not mind paying a fee of, let’s say US $5 to park for the night.
Government too must play its part. Leave the parking lot on the Clem Labega Square open for parking, even if there is a fee for this. And the parking lot at the back of the Government administration building too can be made available for public parking during the Carnival season. After all, these properties are the properties of the people of St. Maarten.
These are just some tips to make our island friendlier and more hospitable to its people and visitors.
