Lieutenant Governor Tregenza A. Roach, Esq. announces 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.
“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,” said Lieutenant Governor Roach.
The Bridge Phase on St. Thomas consisted of a multi-step approach. 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,” said Lieutenant Governor Roach.
“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,” said GIS Division Administrator Chris George.
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: SAI@lgo.vi.gov