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Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach announced today the completion of field work on St. Thomas as part of the Bridge Phase of the Street Addressing Initiative (SAI) which began in October. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Division leads the charge on this initiative, according to a release.
“This is a crucial project for the territory that will provide a systematic, logical, and standardized addressing system, a system that can save lives wherein addresses can be located and utilized by emergency responders, postal services, utilities, GPS-based systems for navigation and other crucial services,” Mr. Roach said.
The Bridge Phase on St. Thomas consisted of a multi-step approach, said the Lieutenant Governor's Office. The first step was to create an Address Reference System grid. Then, utilizing a data collector, field crews assigned each building or vacant property a number based on its distance from the point of beginning on the grid. The geographic coordinates for that point and a photograph of the structure or property were collected. The address number and street name for the address were also recorded.
“The data was collected for the nationally standardized street addressing grid system. This information is a critical component for all core stakeholders of the Street Addressing Initiative to include the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA), Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), Virgin Islands Fire Service (VIFS), Water and Power Authority (WAPA), United States Postal Service (USPS), and VIYA,” the lieutenant governor said.
Geographic Information Systems Division Administrator Chris George said, “Once the numbers were assigned and grid data collected, field crews placed information packets on each building, location, and property. All stakeholders and residents of the Downtown Charlotte Amalie Bridge Phase area received the packet. Included in the information packet was a notification letter informing residents of their street address, a Frequently Asked Questions flyer, and letters from core stakeholders VIYA and the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA). Information packets were provided to each property and residence in English, Spanish, and Creole."
Residents are encouraged to learn and secure their street address. For additional information or any questions regarding your new address or the Street Addressing Initiative, please call the designated SAI contact number at 340-693-6191 or send an email to: [email protected]
“It is important to note that the street address does not eliminate your parcel number. Parcel numbers are a legal description of property for use in deeds, property transactions, and tax assessment. However, parcel numbers do not assist in navigation or reference a street addressing network. This means that parcel numbers cannot be used for a standardized addressing system. A benefit of street addresses and numbering is that they remain consistent even as land uses and properties change over time,” said Mr. George.
“The Bridge Phase will continue on St. Croix in the upcoming weeks, addressing designated urban areas in Christiansted and Frederiksted. St. John will immediately follow the conclusion of St. Croix. To ensure efficient data collection, the Bridge Phase only covers specific areas on each island,” Mr. Roach said.
“The next phase of the project will include the entire Territory, covering areas on all four islands: St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, and Water Island. Once each island has been completely addressed, the United States Postal Service will start using the new addresses. Until then, current physical postal addresses will continue to be utilized by mail carriers,” he concluded.
