Stacked beach chairs and tables on Great Bay Beach, just across from Boardwalk Boulevard. Photo by John Halley.
PHILIPSBURG--Adding benches, removing trash, and placing more garbage bins are parts of government’s plans to revamp Boardwalk Boulevard and Great Bay Beach in the coming months in preparation for the traditional tourist high season.
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmila de Weever said on Wednesday that civil servants from the TEATT Ministry and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI, as well as representatives of St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB) and the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM, had recently conducted an assessment of the area.
The stakeholders discussed how the area can be improved for the high season, and government intends to start doing beach maintenance soon. In addition to adding benches and garbage bins, the beach will also be levelled where sand has accumulated in large mounds.
Government still has to meet with beach vendors to discuss its plans. However, De Weever said vendors will be given a notice period to temporarily remove their property from the beach so works can go ahead.
