Carpark on the hillside of Gustavia

Yes Tim, you're right..... forgot that one.. However if that was the case Gustavians, be prepared for months of hammering noise....

Thank you for the excellent survey of parking expenses in NYC. I think that only the well-heeled tourists are going to pay $20. for four hours of parking, certainly not local folks, shop clerks, or restaurant workers. Plus, one has to walk up and down the hill to get to the facility. How about it forum folks, would you pay to use such a facility at that location?

I wouldn't.....Part of the charm for me is creative parking....plus, as you can see, I need the exercise.....

Exactly, nobody is going climb something vaguely equivalent to 4 stories under a hot sun just to get back up to their car...they'll continue to park on sidewalks instead.

This proposal is a phenomenally stupid idea and will most likely gain zero traction. Without even touching the ecological concerns, it's foolish to build more parking because it simply begets more cars (and thus the need for more parking). It never ends.

Admittedly, Gustavia is becoming extremely congested. But this is indicative of a transit problem, not a parking problem. There is simply too many cars on the island (likely more autos than residents at this point).

Better solutions to conquering the congestion of Gustavia would include:
-bus service: reliable & frequent routes between St Jean & Gustavia as well as loops reaching out to daily commuters living in places such as Colombier, Saline, Toiny, etc could probably reduce the number of cars needed on island by half, if not more.
-improvements in other forms of transit: the growing network of sidewalks is slowly making the island more friendly to walkers. Bike lanes might also help. Perhaps even some kind of light rail/cable car connecting St Jean (airport) & Gustavia over the hill. It could even be a tourist atraction in itself (think San Francisco). Possibly even water taxis could help people get around the island.
-moratorium on new automobiles: at a minimum, if someone wants to bring a new car to the island then they should have to send an old car off the island. There are already too many abandoned autos doing nothing but rotting. I'm not sure what the ideal maximum number of autos on the island would be but I would guess that it has already been exceeded.
-regulation & restriction of car ownership: perhaps one per household to encourage car-sharing. Certain businesses would be allowed to have auto but even those should be restricted. For example, construction companies could have trucks but not the large new types that are becoming more familiar here, rather only the smaller old fashioned models. Even for private cars, smaller size should be encouraged. Maybe additional import duties should apply to autos that exceed a certain size.

Freedom & independence are trademarks of islands like St Barth but (as much as it chafes me to admit this) St Barth could also benefit from some top-down, Disney style management of issues & systems like transit. Leaving it up to market forces has created a situation of increasing congestion, environmental degradation, car accidents and general aesthetic loss.

Unfortunately, rental car agencies & taxi drivers are entrenched local businesses that fight vigorously to protect their own interests at the expense of the island's greater well-being. Sadly, intelligence yields to local business interests. Provincialism at it's best!

tim said:

Plus, one has to walk up and down the hill to get to the facility.

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On the FB page the dotted line is said to be potentially an escalator or cable car.

I agree with the scary lady avatar..Why not a Bus system? Small compact Buses to all over the island into Gustavia..Does that make too much sense?

In before the Taxi drivers would throw a fit about a Bus Service..Do they really have that much power on the island?

Well, that was in fact tried a few years ago -- I'll find the post -- but I think the taxi lobby drove them out of business and buses sit in the sun close to the stadium.

It was definetly tried several years back..The taxi drivers squashed it,hence my in before the Taxi drivers thread...

The post wasn't there when I composed my reply.

The post was for everyone..It seems the taxi drivers do have that much power..Why is that? Why hold the island back because the 20 taxi drivers don't want money taken out of their pockets..Sorry John didn't mean to sound snarky.

What next? Tear down the eastern block of harbor, dredge it and make more space for "boats?"

Peter_NJ said:

I agree with the scary lady avatar..

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A possible 11th hour entry for the Funniest Post of 2011 Contest?

The car park in the middle of St. Tropez only charges about 1 or 2 euros per hour. So if the same type of car park is built in SBH the cost would be very modest for morning or late afternoon shoppers. Let's face it, a car park is needed and the govt will find a way to make it happen.

Reading through the comments on Facebook, I'd say that many locals are not in favor of this project. Hard to follow at the puts and takes, but one said "Why would we want this wart on the side of the hill of Gustavia?"

Are there any comments from locals on revisiting the idea of a bus/shuttle service?

One comment was about buses, but this is only a Facebook page in cyberspace. Perhaps Ellen has some insight on this?

This comment (against) sounds a lot like the former tagline of a heavy poster here.

A mediter pour cette nouvelle Année qui débute !
« Quand le dernier arbre sera abattu, la dernière rivière empoisonnée, le dernier poisson capturé, alors seulement vous vous apercevrez que l’argent ne se mange pas. »

Ce présage éclairé a été formulé par un Amérindien Cris (Crees en anglais). Les Cris vivent dans le nord Amérique, principalement au Canada et représentent une population d’environ 200 000 Indiens. Cette population connait particulièrement bien, hélas, les méfaits de la destruction des espaces naturels, cette prophétie nous invite à la réflexion…
about an hour ago

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well, i'm maybe not smart enough but if we consider that the car rental cie are the main car's importer and that we sell our second hand cars to the local market, one of the most simple solution is to limit the importation of new cars or at least for any renewal of our fleet, remove 60 to 70% from the local market and ship it to others place that are looking for cheap cars ( maybe Cuba!!).I'm sure this will solve part of the problem...again that's just a idea;..