usvi-on-line
changes STJ & National Park-North Shore shuttle
changes STJ & National Park-North Shore shuttle
News from the Friends of the Park annual meeting...
from:
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... es-st-john
Davis Has Seen Huge Changes on St. John
Olasee Davis has seen huge changes in St. John since he first visited as a child.
"Every summer I used to come to St. John," Davis told the 100 or so people gathered Sunday for the Friends of the Park annual meeting, held at Cinnamon Bay Campground's T'ree Lizards Restaurant.
Davis, a noted environmentalist and a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, cut his environmental teeth at a young age. He now passes that information along to 7,000 to 10,000 school children a year from his base on St. Croix.
He spoke extensively about the late George Seaman, an environmentalist who Davis said was not happy about the lack of attention paid to the environment by the government.
"If George Seaman was alive today, he'd be pleased that V.I. National Park has friends," he said.
Park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove provided an update on current and future park projects.
A North Shore Road shuttle to take visitors from Cruz Bay to the North Shore Road beaches is in the works. Utilizing the services of taxi drivers, Hardgrove said he expects the shuttle to begin operating shortly.
"It will run hourly for five or six months during the winter," he said.
Next year the park plans to begin a "voluntourism" program working with cruise ship passengers who will pay for a visit to either park facilities on St. John or Hassel Island. They will do tasks like cleaning up beaches, maintaining trails and stabilizing ruins.
"In most cases, these volunteers will be transported by local taxis, having a positive impact on the economy. Shopping and lunch time will also be included," Hardgrove said.
Work is under way on the resurfacing of the North Shore Road and adjacent areas. Hardgrove said the contractor is currently working on the road's base layer. And, the park is in the planning stage of a bike trail to run through the park, Hardgrove said.
According to Hardgrove, the park puts about $11 million a year into the local economy through salaries and other expenditures.
Friends President Joe Kessler outlined the Friends group's accomplishments during the past year and projects planned for this year. He said an accessible trail will be built at Cinnamon Bay and an archeology museum developed.
Both Hardgrove and Kessler spoke about the importance of volunteers. Kessler said more than 1,000 people volunteered for about 8,500 hours with Friends’ activities during 2009. Hardgrove said that including the Friends volunteer efforts, the park gets about 15,000 hours a year from volunteers.
Dave Thompson, who spearheaded efforts on building the Francis Bay accessible trail, received the Friends Volunteer of the Year Award. Jeff Miller, a biologist with the National Park Service's inventory and monitoring program, received the Friends Partnership award. Winter residents Kent and Paula Savel received the park's Volunteer of the Year award.
And Jeff Chabot, who as a volunteer runs bush clearing crews for much of the year, received the park's Volunteer Extraordinaire award.
Copyright © V.I. Source Publications, Inc.
from:
http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... es-st-john
Davis Has Seen Huge Changes on St. John
Olasee Davis has seen huge changes in St. John since he first visited as a child.
"Every summer I used to come to St. John," Davis told the 100 or so people gathered Sunday for the Friends of the Park annual meeting, held at Cinnamon Bay Campground's T'ree Lizards Restaurant.
Davis, a noted environmentalist and a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, cut his environmental teeth at a young age. He now passes that information along to 7,000 to 10,000 school children a year from his base on St. Croix.
He spoke extensively about the late George Seaman, an environmentalist who Davis said was not happy about the lack of attention paid to the environment by the government.
"If George Seaman was alive today, he'd be pleased that V.I. National Park has friends," he said.
Park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove provided an update on current and future park projects.
A North Shore Road shuttle to take visitors from Cruz Bay to the North Shore Road beaches is in the works. Utilizing the services of taxi drivers, Hardgrove said he expects the shuttle to begin operating shortly.
"It will run hourly for five or six months during the winter," he said.
Next year the park plans to begin a "voluntourism" program working with cruise ship passengers who will pay for a visit to either park facilities on St. John or Hassel Island. They will do tasks like cleaning up beaches, maintaining trails and stabilizing ruins.
"In most cases, these volunteers will be transported by local taxis, having a positive impact on the economy. Shopping and lunch time will also be included," Hardgrove said.
Work is under way on the resurfacing of the North Shore Road and adjacent areas. Hardgrove said the contractor is currently working on the road's base layer. And, the park is in the planning stage of a bike trail to run through the park, Hardgrove said.
According to Hardgrove, the park puts about $11 million a year into the local economy through salaries and other expenditures.
Friends President Joe Kessler outlined the Friends group's accomplishments during the past year and projects planned for this year. He said an accessible trail will be built at Cinnamon Bay and an archeology museum developed.
Both Hardgrove and Kessler spoke about the importance of volunteers. Kessler said more than 1,000 people volunteered for about 8,500 hours with Friends’ activities during 2009. Hardgrove said that including the Friends volunteer efforts, the park gets about 15,000 hours a year from volunteers.
Dave Thompson, who spearheaded efforts on building the Francis Bay accessible trail, received the Friends Volunteer of the Year Award. Jeff Miller, a biologist with the National Park Service's inventory and monitoring program, received the Friends Partnership award. Winter residents Kent and Paula Savel received the park's Volunteer of the Year award.
And Jeff Chabot, who as a volunteer runs bush clearing crews for much of the year, received the park's Volunteer Extraordinaire award.
Copyright © V.I. Source Publications, Inc.
... no longer a stranger to paradise
-
michigancouple
- Posts: 609
- Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:37 pm
- Location: West Michigan
Does this mean there will be something other than taking the taxi's which can be very expensive for a family without a car that comes to STJ on the ferry for a day?A North Shore Road shuttle to take visitors from Cruz Bay to the North Shore Road beaches is in the works. Utilizing the services of taxi drivers, Hardgrove said he expects the shuttle to begin operating shortly.
"It will run hourly for five or six months during the winter," he said.
I really like the $1 safari buses on STT, but they don't seem to be that way on STJ.
A North Shore shuttle has been discussed on this forum a few times in the past. I do not recall anyone having exact details on the matter yet.
One source of input is
http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_j ... aches.html
"July 30, 2009
Park boss wants beach shuttle
Repaving of the North Shore Road is on track to begin in the fall, according to the Park's Superintendent.
Rotary_logo Mark Hardgrove told a meeting of St. John Rotary that bids for the work came in 25% less than budgeted.. This means, he said, the project can be expanded to include more repaving and include road behind the NPS building in Cruz Bay, the St. John Source said in its report of the meeting.
The Superintendent also said he’s hoping to enlist island taxi drivers in establishing shuttle transportation to the beaches. He’d like to see a system that would let people get on and off vehicles along the way. he said this would reduce parking problems and congestion at Trunk Bay as well as increase the drivers' income because they’d be driving more and waiting less.
Read the full St. John Source story at http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... g-tap-park " (follows)
"Hardgrove: Paving, Parking On Tap For Park
Feb. 27, 2009 -- The V.I. National Park is on the move with a slew of improvement projects, park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove told the 25 members of the Rotary Club of St. John gathered Friday for their weekly meeting at the Westin Resort and Villas.
Chief among them is paving the North Shore Road, in the planning stages for several years but about to come to fruition.
"If funded, we'll pave all the way to Annaberg and Centerline Road," Hardgrove said.
The year-long paving project, expected to begin in June, will start at the park's maintenance area, located where the North Shore Road heads uphill out of Cruz Bay. The Federal Highway Administration has allocated $4.9 million to pave as far as Trunk Bay, but if another $3.9 million becomes available under the stimulus bill, more work can be done, Hardgrove said.
The additional work will include paving behind the Cruz Bay Visitors Center, which Hardgrove said would increase the number of parking spots available. While there were only two of the 25 spots allotted for visitors, Hardgrove said that the park has shifted some of its parking needs to the nearby maintenance parking lot to free up more spaces for visitor parking.
The paving project also includes reconstructing the failing road base where needed, installing new signs and putting in pedestrian walkways.
The park plans to open up a 25- to 30-vehicle parking lot across from Maho Bay where a trailer now sits. Hardgrove said this will alleviate the dangerous parking situation that exists along the North Shore Road at Maho Bay because cars must park along the road.
The park will receive a $50,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to hire a transportation expert to develop alternative transportation solutions for the park. Hardgrove said the park will work with the island's taxi drivers to make sure they're included. The transportation expert will live on St. John from June through December.
Hardgrove ticked off a list of other projects slated for the near future if the U.S. Congress passes the 2009 budget. They include rehabilitation of the public restrooms at the Cruz Bay Visitor's Center and emergency stabilizations of the Trunk Bay ruins.
Hardgrove announced that the park's archive and research center, located at the Biosphere Reserve, will open in two or three months. It will house the park's historic documents and photos.
"They're irreplaceable," he said."
One source of input is
http://barnako.typepad.com/news_of_st_j ... aches.html
"July 30, 2009
Park boss wants beach shuttle
Repaving of the North Shore Road is on track to begin in the fall, according to the Park's Superintendent.
Rotary_logo Mark Hardgrove told a meeting of St. John Rotary that bids for the work came in 25% less than budgeted.. This means, he said, the project can be expanded to include more repaving and include road behind the NPS building in Cruz Bay, the St. John Source said in its report of the meeting.
The Superintendent also said he’s hoping to enlist island taxi drivers in establishing shuttle transportation to the beaches. He’d like to see a system that would let people get on and off vehicles along the way. he said this would reduce parking problems and congestion at Trunk Bay as well as increase the drivers' income because they’d be driving more and waiting less.
Read the full St. John Source story at http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... g-tap-park " (follows)
"Hardgrove: Paving, Parking On Tap For Park
Feb. 27, 2009 -- The V.I. National Park is on the move with a slew of improvement projects, park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove told the 25 members of the Rotary Club of St. John gathered Friday for their weekly meeting at the Westin Resort and Villas.
Chief among them is paving the North Shore Road, in the planning stages for several years but about to come to fruition.
"If funded, we'll pave all the way to Annaberg and Centerline Road," Hardgrove said.
The year-long paving project, expected to begin in June, will start at the park's maintenance area, located where the North Shore Road heads uphill out of Cruz Bay. The Federal Highway Administration has allocated $4.9 million to pave as far as Trunk Bay, but if another $3.9 million becomes available under the stimulus bill, more work can be done, Hardgrove said.
The additional work will include paving behind the Cruz Bay Visitors Center, which Hardgrove said would increase the number of parking spots available. While there were only two of the 25 spots allotted for visitors, Hardgrove said that the park has shifted some of its parking needs to the nearby maintenance parking lot to free up more spaces for visitor parking.
The paving project also includes reconstructing the failing road base where needed, installing new signs and putting in pedestrian walkways.
The park plans to open up a 25- to 30-vehicle parking lot across from Maho Bay where a trailer now sits. Hardgrove said this will alleviate the dangerous parking situation that exists along the North Shore Road at Maho Bay because cars must park along the road.
The park will receive a $50,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to hire a transportation expert to develop alternative transportation solutions for the park. Hardgrove said the park will work with the island's taxi drivers to make sure they're included. The transportation expert will live on St. John from June through December.
Hardgrove ticked off a list of other projects slated for the near future if the U.S. Congress passes the 2009 budget. They include rehabilitation of the public restrooms at the Cruz Bay Visitor's Center and emergency stabilizations of the Trunk Bay ruins.
Hardgrove announced that the park's archive and research center, located at the Biosphere Reserve, will open in two or three months. It will house the park's historic documents and photos.
"They're irreplaceable," he said."
... no longer a stranger to paradise