PHILIPSBURG--2011 on St. Maarten was perhaps most characterised by a number of large-scale infrastructural works taking place practically at the same time, which severely hampered traffic in Middle Region, Dutch Quarter, the Cul-de-Sac area, Sucker Garden and Philipsburg, but particularly in Cole Bay.
It was later explained that several projects had to be executed in 2011 because they involved European funding that would otherwise expire. The reality is also that the complaints regarding drainage and sewage in the districts concerned were long-standing and certainly justified, so that clearly something needed to be done.
The story is not over either, as the jobs in Middle Region and Dutch Quarter are yet to be completed, while Welfare Road still requires a finishing touch and there continues to be an issue with the work done on L.B. Scot Road for the Ebenezer sewage line.
One-way
When the Welfare Road driving lane in the direction of Simpson Bay was first closed from the Kruythoff roundabout to accommodate the project, it immediately led to long lines, especially in the early evening rush hour going back over both Cole Bay Hill and Cake House Road. It was quickly decided to use a tactic employed earlier while working in that area by making Union Road one-way in the direction of Marigot from the roundabout to the Tackling gas station, and Orange Grove Road one-way in the direction of Simpson Bay.
While this did alleviate the late afternoon congestion coming from the greater Philipsburg area, it turned out to be a disaster for vehicles heading the other way. There were lines backed up all the way to the fence of Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) during the entire day, also because cars coming from Marigot and the Union Road section of Cole Bay heading over the hill were now forced to go through Orange Grove and join those coming from Simpson Bay at Tropicana Casino.
Frustration
That led to a lot of frustration, because many of them were using the vacant left lane to cut ahead, knowing full-well they would still have to merge in front of Daily Extra, while the motorists already in line could only sit and watch. Efforts were made to better regulate the flow, but it remained an undesirable situation, also considering that the major resorts and airport are in that area, so that many visitors ended up spending a considerable part of their vacation stuck in traffic.
It was the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) which sounded the alarm bell because of the effect on tourism and the negative word-of-mouth and online publicity going into a new season. SHTA reasoned that vehicles coming from Marigot to Philipsburg should not be sent through Orange Grove and the Welfare Road construction site, because they had no reason to be there in the first place and it would be better to allow them to continue directly on Union Road to the Kruythoff roundabout and over the hill.
Relief
The latter required making the entire Union Road two-way again, which authorities agreed to do after some hesitation. The move certainly relieved traffic congestion in the Simpson Bay area as intended, but it also led to long lines again, especially during the evening rush hour coming from the greater Philipsburg area in the opposite direction over Cole Bay Hill and Cake House Road.
This "lesser of two evils" scenario was maintained until the work stopped in the second week of December and thus ahead of the busy holiday period. The top-layer of asphalt was not laid, however, because of a recurring problem with running sewage water coming from buildings in the area that authorities are now seeking to tackle, because it will continue to erode the road.
Because of this, the manholes for the drainage were sticking out of the surface and the contractor had to create some small "asphalt hills" around them to protect both the covers and people's tires. In that sense driving over the renewed road is still not the smooth experience one would have expected it to be.
Street flooding and running sewage in some cases were the biggest issues at most of the other projects, such as those in Dutch Quarter and Middle Region, in addition to the inconvenience of living in a construction zone. Residents and business in all the affected areas no doubt had to put up with a lot.
Credit
But what most people will no doubt remember best is being stuck in traffic basically on a daily basis for months on end. It led to some interesting initiatives, like walking or biking to work, suggestions on how to pass the time in the car or even get out for a quick bite or drink while waiting.
On a whole, though, it was hardly a pleasant experience for most, so the motorists who under these circumstances managed to keep their cool, continued to obey traffic rules and remained courteous to other road users at all times deserve credit. They obviously know who they are and taking in account also how hard it must have been at times to tolerate others displaying their worst behaviour, The Daily Herald's 2011 Person of the Year is the true "Friendly Island" motorist.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/23924-person-of-the-year.html
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