Frederiksted, St. Croix – Our Town Frederiksted, Inc. (OTF), a community advocacy organization, successfully hosted their quarterly town hall on Wednesday night at the American Legion Hall in Frederiksted. Over 40 Frederiksted residents and community members attended the town hall to learn about the ongoing activities of OTF, which in addition to the popular Rhythms at Sunset concert series include opportunities to support affordable housing and community revitalization in downtown Frederiksted.
The town hall featured a discussion on OTF’s collaboration with the Street Addressing Initiative (SAI) of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to improve street addressing on St. Croix, focusing on naming unnamed roads in the Frederiksted area. Chris George, GIS Project Director, shared the benefits of adopting a standardized addressing system, emphasizing its role in enhancing mail delivery, emergency response, public safety, and road navigation. Attendees engaged thoughtfully, asking insightful questions during the street addressing presentation.
According to George, 226 roads throughout Frederiksted estates are unnamed, with the majority of those roads found in Estate Whim. “The success of the territory’s street addressing initiative is dependent on collaboration with communities, neighborhood organizations and folks like you,” George said. In his call to action for citizen input, he asked for individuals who traverse the roads daily and live in the respective areas to be a part of the naming process. George encouraged them to work with their neighbors to gain consensus on street names, which should ideally reflect community history and interests. OTF committed to assisting the SAI team with promoting the road name request form to ensure residents are educated on the process. George expressed optimism that Frederiksted residents will be able to complete the road naming process by April of this year, in line with the SAI’s timeline for the territory. Road naming forms and naming guidelines for the SAI can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/usvi-sai/home.
The town hall concluded with a constructive open forum where participants voiced their concerns regarding crime, particularly theft, street lighting, and the condition of key public spaces such as the Ann E. Heyliger Vegetable Market, Midre Cummings Park, and other areas in Frederiksted. Attendees also engaged in a discussion about the lack of active anti-litter campaigns in the territory. OTF addressed these concerns, highlighting their ongoing cleanup efforts and plans for revitalizing the town. President Shomari Moorehead emphasized that through these initiatives, individuals who loiter and contribute to littering will be encouraged to recognize their responsibility in maintaining a cleaner, more vibrant community.
For more information on Our Town Frederiksted, visit https://ourtownfrederiksted.org/ or follow on social media @ourtownfrederiksted.
