Lots of cities have underground parking garages that are below the water table. Toronto, NYC, and Chicago are three that quickly come to mind. Modern engineering and pumping systems do a great job of keeping them dry.

Having said that, there are a couple of added considerations for such a garage in Sint Maarten. In a location where power outages occur regularly, they would at least need emergency generators for the pumps, although I would expect there to be generators no matter where they were located. Also, in an area where hurricanes and storm surges can be expected, the pumps may not be able to keep up. If the garage becomes inundated by sea water, even the best membrane system may not fully prevent the salt water from seeping into the concrete and potentially corroding the rebar.

Another solution is to put above-ground parking garages in key locations further out, where there may be space to build, and run shuttle buses to and from the shopping and restaurant areas. Or institute an actual public transit (bus) system, so visitors have a choice and don't always have to drive their cars and find a place to park. Unfortunately, these are not as convenient as being able to drive and park your car nearby, but the latter is often unachievable. They really need a comprehensive transit and traffic management plan.

They have put a lot of emphasis on attracting cruise ship visitors over the last few years. I have no issue with that, but they also need to put time and effort into dealing with the infrastructure issues that come with it. While cruise ships bring large numbers of tourists to the island for a single day, there seems to be less interest in reducing barriers for those visitors who are actually staying on the island, sometimes for several weeks.

I'm at least pleased they are starting to understand, and hopefully do more than just talk about, the traffic, parking, and other infrastructure issues holding back their tourist economy. Unfortunately, as we have often seen before with such projects as the PJIA terminal rebuilding, nothing moves quickly on the island unless the wheel is first greased for all interested and affected parties. Even then, it all occurs in very slow motion on "island time".