The streets of St. Maarten are an important part of the livability of our island. Currently, too many of our roads are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams. They ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. We want to be able to easily and safely cross the street, wait for a bus, walk to shops and bicycle to school and work. <br>

We urge the governments of St. Maarten and St. Martin to work towards making a complete road system designed to connect the community by creating a safe, comfortable, integrated transportation network for all users, regardless of age, ability, income, ethnicity, or mode of transportation. We urge our governments to adopt a Complete Streets policy and use it on all future road projects to design and alter roads as routine construction, reconstruction and repaving projects are completed in order to make our streets safe for all users including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transport users, and motorists.<br>

Complete Streets make economic sense. Households in auto-dependent communities devote 20% more to transportation than communities with Complete Streets. A balanced transportation system that includes Complete Streets can help stimulate the local economy by making it easier to take transit, walk, or bike to their destinations, reducing commutes by car. By using alternative modes of transportation residents and tourists both can save money on transit. This “green dividend” means that that money can be spent in other ways, such as housing, restaurants, and entertainment, which keeps money circulating in the local economy.<br>

Complete Streets improve safety by reducing crashes through safety improvements. One study found that designing for pedestrian travel by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduced pedestrian risk by 28%.<br>

Complete Streets encourage a more active and healthy lifestyle. Inactivity is a factor in many other diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Public health experts are encouraging walking and bicycling as a response. Women who walk or bike 30 minutes a day have a lower risk of breast cancer. A 30-minute round trip bicycle commute is associated with better mental health in men. <br>

A recent comprehensive assessment by public health researchers of actions to encourage more physical activity recommended building more sidewalks, improving transit service, and creating bike lanes. One study found a 23% increase in bicycle traffic after bike lanes were installed. The majority of these new bicyclists did not feel comfortable riding on that road prior to the installation of bike lanes. <br>

Complete Streets can help ease transportation woes. Planning and designing roads to make them safer for all users and more inviting to pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users can increase overall capacity and efficiency without a negative impact on automobile travel. In addition, streets that provide travel choices give people the option to walk, bicycle and use public transportation leading to less cars on the road and less congestion in the streets. <br>

Complete Streets help children. Streets that provide room for bicycling and walking help children get physical activity and gain independence. More children walk to school where there are sidewalks, and children who have and use safe walking and bicycling routes have a more positive view of their neighborhood. <br>

Complete streets are good for air quality. Poor air quality is linked to increases in asthma and other illnesses. Yet if each resident of our island replaced one car trip with one bike trip just once a month, it would cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 3,764 tons of per year. Complete Streets allow this to happen more easily.