Parking Area at Enighed Pond

This was in the Source this morning. CZM approved the Port Authority's plan to build 151 parking stalls on filled land near Enighed Pond.

And I was the first person to vote for it. Read about it and other local news at www.stjohnsource.com.

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CZM Committee OKs Enighed Parking, Coral Bay Project
By Lynda Lohr — April 7, 2010

A map of the proposed parking area at Enighed Pond.

Look for the 150 new parking spaces at Enighed Pond Marine Terminal to be done by the next winter tourism season, St. Thomas architect Robert deJongh said following a meeting Wednesday of the St. John Coastal Zone Management Committee.
The committee approved the V.I. Port Authority's request to modify its 1994 CZM permit to allow for the parking, as well as a request from G.E. Marsh Legacy Development and Holding Group Inc. for a commercial development in Coral Bay.
The lack of parking is often cited as the number one problem in Cruz Bay. The parking, which will be free, should help alleviate that problem, but those who use the facility will face about a 10-minute walk to reach the heart of Cruz Bay. VIPA Director Kenn Hobson said following the meeting that the agency has no plans to provide a shuttle.
"We can't afford that," he said.
Hobson suggested that a St. John entrepreneur could charge for the shuttle service.
St. John Administrator Leona Smith said that her office is working on a solution to the problem.
Several CZM Committee members asked that the Port Authority expand the one male and one female public bathrooms planned for the outside of the proposed dock master's office to be built at Enighed Pond.
"One potty is not enough," CZM Committee member Andrew Penn said.
In a presentation to committee members, deJongh outlined the construction process for the Enighed Pond parking. The dredged spoils now sitting adjacent to the pond will be replaced with multiple layers of material. First the area will be excavated to three feet below grade level. Alternating layers of geotextile fabric and crushed stone will be put in place with gravel on the top.
"It will create a structural crust," deJongh said.
DeJongh initially thought the dredged area would be too soft, but he said an investigation showed it would support cars but not buildings.
The interior space of the parking area will be developed by the Port Authority when it stabilizes in about 20 years, VIPA engineer Dale Gregory said.
Lighting will also be installed. Eight to 10 feet at both ends of the boomerang-shaped parking area will be reserved for landscaping, de Jongh said.
The CZM members urged the Port Authority to make the area attractive.
"It has to be first class," CZM member Gerald Hills said.
Hobson said the Enighed Pond parking project will go out for bid in 15 days.
Representatives from G.E. Marsh had presented their project to the CZM Committee in October. The committee took only a few minutes to grant the company a permit for a commercial, business, residential, and recreational complex that includes an open-air theater.
The site sits on five acres in an area of Coral Bay often referred to as the flats. Currently, Love City Minimart, Domino gas station and a house are on the property.
For both projects, the CZM Committee imposed some conditions. They included the requirement that both construction vehicles and those belonging to construction crews be parked on the site, not on the adjacent roads.
In the case of G.E. Marsh, the committee mandated that all dirt from digging and grading be surrounded by a dike-and-swale system to ensure that erosion and sedimentation is minimized. Stockpiled dirt must be seeded to prevent wind erosion.
In addition to Hills and Penn, CZM Committee member Edmond Roberts and committee Chairman Madaline Sewer attended the meeting. Votes on both projects were unanimous.