Town hall meeting on Tuesday evening
Residents and stakeholders of the Greater Philipsburg Area, Suckergarden and Over the Pond, are reminded to attend the first town hall meeting with respect zoning/development plans of the aforementioned areas for Tuesday, February 26 at 7.00pm to 9.30pm. The meeting will take place at the University of St. Martin.
With this being the first public town hall meeting for the aforementioned areas, residents and stakeholders has an opportunity to bring forth their views and ideas.
The main topics of the draft development plan are traffic (roads and other infrastructure), tourism (tourism and recreation), industry (commercial, industrial), residential (housing, public spaces and facilities), nature (ecology, landscape and water), culture (cultural heritage and archaeology).
The presentation on Tuesday evening includes some proposals to resolve traffic situations on secondary roads and side streets; road designs and beautification of the A.T. Illidge Road, Arch Road and Sucker Garden Road; reserve space for sidewalks; no parking directly alongside the road; the Ring Road; re-arranging of traffic in Philipsburg; extra parking spaces and parking garages; extension of boardwalk; the creation of an additional jetty; enhancing the connection from Harbour Village to Fort Amsterdam; the creation of a Over the Pond/Suckergarden Village Centre; the Ponds and surrounding Green Hills.
Also part of the discussion among many other issues on Monday evening are drainage issues and flood risks, green hills and mangroves.
The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure (MinVROMI) is developing the legal framework for possible future development; to designate and/or reserve land for desired use; to prevent uncontrolled development; and to offer legal security to residents about future development.
The meeting is part of the process of drafting "development plans" for country Sint Maarten.