I have seen the plan presented by the St. Thomas – St. John Chamber of Commerce to enhance the waterfront of Charlotte Amalie and it is a pretty picture. For that is just what it is, and no more, a beautiful painting of the waterfront with lots of landscaping. It however, does not solve many of the problems, especially the traffic problem.
The Chamber President has condemned Plan 8 of the Veterans Drive Improvement Project because he said it would have a negative impact on downtown tourism and the overall quality of life. It is obvious he has not seen Plan 8 and is condemning it on someone else's opinion. As a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, I studied Plan 8 and the other traffic alternatives, before it was approved by the Commission. Plan 8 reduces the heavy traffic between two of our most cherished buildings, Fort Christian and it's Barracks, which houses the Senate Building. Presently both buildings are suffering from deterioration because of the carbon monoxide fumes and vibrations from the constant flow of cars and trucks and huge trailers. The chamber plan does not address this problem. Plan 8 creates a park that would unite Emancipation Garden, a plaza with a fountain where the present vendors plaza is located, the Barracks and Fort Christian.
This park would reunite Fort Christian and the Barracks in one area as they were historically. Presently both buildings are islands surrounded by cars. Plan 8 also creates a harbor promenade, although it does not go all the way to Frenchtown. Plan 8 also removes the vendors plaza, that eye sore and shanty town, at the entrance to Charlotte Amalie. How in the world can all these features have a negative impact on downtown tourism and the quality of life?
The League of Women Voters are against Plan 8 because they claim it would affect the promontory on the southern side of the Barracks. This promontory is not original. According to a study done by deJongh/Gjessing, Architects, in 1982 the promontory was changed twice. It was filled and extended in 1851, and again in 1874. Admittedly, it is old and historic, but is it as old as Fort Christian, which is being degraded daily by the constant traffic. When Fort Christian crumbles, we cannot save it. We can recreate the rocks on the promontory very easily. So what is the big deal about a road way going around the point by the Barracks? The road would extend at most 35 feet, and contrary to the Chamber of Commerce statement, it would include a harbor promenade similar to the one presented on the Chamber's plan. Now, if there was a plan to save the harbor and put it back to it's pristine state of 100 years ago, I would support it. But the harbor is already being used everyday by huge cruise ships churning up the bottom and murking the waters, it is periodically being dredged, it has been filled in from
Frenchtown to the Boy Scouts building to form Veteran's Drive, it has been cut through at Villa Olga which changed the configuration of the waters in the harbor. It has been filled in to create WICO's dock and jetty extension into the harbor and Long Bay has been filled in. The remaining two lane roadway, from the fort to Lover's Lane, all has been filled in with rocks so please tell me what the supporters of "save the harbor" trying to save from Plan 8.
The Chamber President has condemned Plan 8 but has not presented any other alternatives to the traffic problem. Last week, a member of the Chamber said the traffic could move to the hills. Where? There was a proposal to do this before, but it was scrapped because it was too expensive.
Not only that, but can you imagine the visual disaster of looking up to see huge bridges across the hills? How else would one cross the large guts? How would they solve the traffic between the two historic buildings? Traffic management such as park and ride won't work, it was tried and failed. Water taxis would help, but again would not solve the traffic problem between the two buildings. Another plan proposed years ago and recently, was a tunnel to the north of Fort Christian. Anyone suggesting to put a tunnel under the water table of Charlotte Amalie has forgotten we are just a few miles away from the Puerto Rican Trench. Furthermore, who would maintain such a tunnel? Recently the President of WICO mentioned that the tourists have to return to the ships early because of traffic and also complaints about sitting in the taxis for a long time, getting into the town. The Chamber's plan does not address this.
A lot of time, money and brain power have been spent over the last five years on the traffic problem by the engineering firm of Parsons-Brinkerhoff, Douglas and Quade. This firm, which has been in existence for over 100 years, has many projects to their credit including the Boston Harbor Tunnel, The New York Subway System, the expansion of the Luis Munoz Marin Airport in San Juan, and others too numerous to mention here. Also on the team are two native St. Thomians who are sensitive to what is historic and what should be saved. After all this is their home.
As a preservationist, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission and businessman working in the town, I too, am concerned about Charlotte Amalie. I have written about this before and I along with other members of the commission studied all the alternatives for addressing the traffic problems in the historic district and found Plan 8 is the most suitable. It is my opinion that if the Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters are sincerely interested in the town of Charlotte Amalie from a historical point of view, they should get together with the designers of Plan 8 and enhance that plan with theirs. I also see these problems in context with the whole island. It is time to put aside this "crab in the barrel" mentality and do things together that would benefit all the people of the Virgin Islands, present and future and not just a handful with their own private agendas.
Philip Sturm, St. Thomas
