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Illegal parking, incivility and nuisances from outside the neighborhood, yacht tenders docking at the fishermen's pier... The problems raised by residents of the Corossol neighborhood during a meeting initiated by Senator Micheline Jacques on Monday, January 26, at the ALC premises, are numerous. And not really new. "You already have everything in the survey that was conducted two years ago," remarked one resident. "We're in the same situation." With a few additional issues that have since arisen in the neighborhood.
About fifteen people responded to the senator's invitation. To meet with residents, the parliamentarian was accompanied by three territorial councilors from the Saint-Barth d'Abord group: Alexandra Questel, Diana Bourel, and Sylvère Gréaux. A representative of the gendarmerie was also present. The discussion began by addressing the water runoff observed in recent weeks, which has since stopped (JSB 1649). This "leak" recurs at regular intervals after long periods of rain. According to Jeannot Danet, the runoff comes from the hill and is the result of construction work on the new parking lot. "It didn't used to flow in this spot," says the former territorial councilor. However, this theory has yet to be verified. In any case, the discussion quickly moves on to other issues, such as the use of the "parking lot and trash area."
"Issue tickets every day"
The issue of insecurity is raised. "I would rather call it a nuisance," explains one resident. A neighbor replies: "Some evenings, things get heated and glass bottles fly. So yes, it's not very safe." " As for the fact that it is a drug dealing spot, one resident has no doubt about it. "They don't even hide," she says. The gendarmerie representative believes that these are certainly people who have already been checked and fined elsewhere on the island. "In Gustavia, they got tired of us coming by all the time, so they moved to another neighborhood," he notes. "We went by on Saturday, but the guy had time to see us coming and rode his scooter past us." For Micheline Jacques, action must be taken. "We can't let this situation continue in the neighborhood," she says. "It's not complicated, you just have to come by and issue tickets every day, like you do for vehicles that are parked illegally and obstructing traffic," adds another resident. This naturally leads to the topic of parking.
"It's been going on for ten years," complains one resident. "If they get a $35 fine every day, people will go elsewhere." The gendarmerie emphasizes that the introduction of electronic ticketing and the launch of the territorial impound lot "will allow for progress." Alexandra Questel adds, "Today, the priority might be to build a parking lot." " She refers to the 1,093 square meter plot of land owned by the local authority. "There was a plan for a parking lot and housing under the previous administration, but that is no longer the case today," says the elected official. However, one of the main difficulties is related to vehicles parked along the road, sometimes on both sides. "We mustn't forget that the old houses were built at a time when it wasn't mandatory to have a parking lot," says one resident. Issuing tickets to all vehicles, except for those belonging to residents, could therefore prove counterproductive.
The use of the pontoon at the end of the beach is also a source of complaint. "More and more yacht tenders are bringing their customers to Corossol," says one resident. "They're not allowed to do that," replies the police officer. "Except that it happens all the time," confirms another resident. You only have to spend a day here to see that." These landings are accompanied by an invasion of vehicles coming to pick up these customers. For one resident, it is becoming "crucial" to "clarify the status of the pontoon's use." The same applies to moored vessels that are inhabited but lack supervision or maintenance. "We need to rethink the neighborhood," says one participant. The next step is to outline the possible changes to be made.
