Regarding the article by Lynda Lohr entitled "Petition Seeks Signatures to Stop Parking Garage Project," which was published on July 20, I would like to say that I am adamantly against putting a parking garage on the St. John waterfront. The Cruz Bay waterfront should be attractive to visitors coming into Cruz Bay harbor, and furthermore, the proposed waterfront site is too narrow to be able to accommodate enough cars to put a dent in the Cruz Bay parking problem. Why spend $3 million or more of taxpayers' money to not solve the problem?
The proposed site would also actually add to the congestion in the heart of Cruz Bay by drawing cars into the area. St. John needs a larger parking garage located near to but outside of the heart of Cruz Bay.
I think that architect Rob Crane's idea of putting a larger garage on the site of the current tennis courts and DMV is an excellent one. He has designed a low-level garage that would accommodate 280 cars, which is enough to solve the parking problem in Cruz Bay and that would cost significantly less than the proposed $3 million-plus garage. If the community would like the tennis courts to be relocated, then perhaps land on Gifft Hill near the community center to be built at Bellvue Village could be used, or land belonging to the St. John School on Gifft Hill. It's a central location and certainly a more pleasant one for athletes than the noisy, dusty current location of the tennis courts.
Lisa Reavis
Islandia Real Estate Inc.