GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Friday said having more parking and one-way streets in the Garapan tourism district is the best approach.
“We’ve always heard [that there is] not enough parking [there]. Then, we hear that we need more access for fire and enforcement agencies, so we try to balance that out in the last several years,” he said.
Torres noted that the “downtime” the Commonwealth is experiencing with no tourists coming in is the ideal time to revamp tourist sites.
“We’re maximizing our opportunity to do our renovations, especially downtown,” he said, referring to Garapan.
He said it’s very important for the community, including the business sector, to keep Garapan clean and safe.
“We’re asking our business partners to join hands and continue to keep Garapan not just clean, but [to also] assess the one-way parking and educate our community that this is going to be implemented soon,” he said.
“We expect our community to follow through so that we can have [an easier] flow within the Garapan tourist district.”
“According to the governor, “If you look at the organization and business layout for Garapan, one thing’s for sure: traffic is not going to stop…. What we’re doing, actually, is better for the business community because you don’t [have] congested traffic in front of your business. I believe that this is the best approach [for] our business across-the-board because not only [will] we have organized parking, we [will also] have organized traffic.”
In partnership with the Department of Public Works, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services — which are members of the Garapan Revitalization Task Force, or GRTF — the government determined that in order to improve overall traffic flow, promote the safety and well-being of pedestrians and moving vehicles, and increase public parking space in the primary commercial district of Garapan, certain streets must become one-way streets.
The other members of the task force are private businesses, including DFS Saipan Ltd., Hyatt Regency Saipan, I Love Saipan, Imperial Pacific Resort, J.C. Tenorio Enterprises Inc., PDM Promoters Inc., Tan Holdings and Triple J Saipan Inc.
The Tournament of Champions, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support island beautification and enhancement projects, has donated directional signs valued at $13,385.55, with additional support from Safety 1st Systems CNMI Inc.
DPW is responsible for sign installation while Tan Holdings has donated traffic paint for road markings and parking lines.
Upon completion, the project is estimated to produce approximately 300 parking spaces available for public use.
The Paseo de Marianas in Garapan is seen in this file photo.
