TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Underground parking proposal

This should get a discussion started.😉

LINK

Try this. JD

Bad link

I fixed the link.

You mean they want to build an underground swimming pool???? How is that going to handle flooding???? Above ground structure wasn't thought of? Not the nicest looking thing, but neither was the blue mall!! SMH!!!

Neither of the current garages in Maho don't appear to have any flooding issues and the entry levels are one or two levels below street grade.

Thanks for fixing the link JD.👍

Yep.

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".

I found this article to be interesting in that we have always said that we prefer SXM but love th transportation system in Aruba where for a small fee you can get anywhere.

Exactly, RonDon.

We didn’t like Aruba at all when comparing it to SXM but I’ve long felt SXM could learn from them re the SXM island transportation system.

You’d probably have to bribe me into going back to Aruba but once there I sure wouldn’t waste my money on a rental car beyond a jeep for a day to explore a little more.

And btw, nothing bad about Aruba but when compared to SXM where we were supposed to be if a hurricane hadn’t hit it, Aruba just didn’t do it for us.

Michael and I used to own at Divi in both Aruba and St Maarten. We traded our Aruba for two weeks in SXM. It's just plain better!
Our friend's mother takes the island busses every year that she goes to SXM. She has no problems. For me? No thank you!