Dear Source:
It took a mere 60 years from the first flight by the Wright Brothers to Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon.
You think that was fast? Well, it only took us HALF that time to get the Christiansted bypass started. So there we are, speeding along. The bypass is seen by most Cruzans as a huge improvement of our infrastructure, but a lot fewer realize that, handled right, this could be the beginning of a new era for all of us here on the big island.
Remember Christiansted 1988, the year before Hugo?
10 o'clock at night the streets were full of people. Shops and restaurants were open, spilling out into the streets and half a dozen places had live music playing. Can we get there again? Yes we can.
Here is plan that has worked well all over the world for the past 40 years. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The problems we have are not unique and while local flavor varies, the basic problems are by and large the same.
The plan has several components. Some of them can be implemented simultaneously.
1) After the bypass we must immediately restrict the heavy vehicle traffic that now passes through town. Every time these huge transports passes through entire buildings shake and little bits and pieces of our architectural history fall to the ground.
2) Work commences to bury all hanging electrical and other cables and put up contemporary streetlights in town.
3) Owners of properties in town MUST fix up their buildings on the outside to standards set by the Historic Commission, OR they must sell the buildings to someone who will. This is a tough one. While the STX Foundation has done good work, they appear to be pussyfooting around pushing for the necessary legislation. Maybe it is the Governor's time to act. Besides, government owned buildings are amongst the worst offenders. Look to towns all over America for a copy of this kind of legislation.
4) Work commences to build parking facilities outside town. Get ready to take your town back, because after 10am no traffic or parking is allowed in town. By then all deliveries must be done. You want to go to town? You park in one of the well protected parking areas and you are instantly picked up by one of the many electrical shuttle buses that takes you right to where you want inside the 'belt way'. These 4-6-8 passenger EVs cost from $ 6-14,000 and should be a free service for the users. (EV:electrical vehicle). And let us throw in a couple of horse and carriages for the tourists. Who is paying for all this? We'll get to that.
The EV shuttle lets you off downtown, where venders, coffee shops and restaurants have taken over the sidewalks.
You can walk down to the waterfront, where s/s Roseway graces the dock after the harbor has been dug out to accommodate her 14ft. draft. If you don't want to go sailing you can always take the soon-to-be electric shuttle ferry over to the Cay for an afternoon on the beach. You can also enjoy the late afternoon concert on the lawn in front of the fort or take a guided tour around the historic district.
As for nightlife: 1988 or better. And for serious fun there is the new theater on Time Square where local and imported talents compete to entertain the culturally starved segment of the population, all in good air-condition giving people a chance to look their best without sweating up a storm. And while we are at it, let us convert Government House into something profitable that more people can enjoy. How about a small 4star hotel-casino?
Does that sound like a place you would like to visit? Does it sound like a place that would attract investment? With prosperity comes increase in tax revenue. Only a small percentage of this increase is needed to run the free shuttle service and other smaller beautification projects. Our historic architecture is the key to economic development on Stx. and every day we neglect it is like owning a goldmine without picking up the gold.
Steffen Larsen
St. Croix
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