NRA surveys traffic for first time in 15 years
Road measure kit
(CNS): National Roads Authority researchers have begun work on the first all-island traffic count since 1999, collecting information on how many vehicles and what types are using roads, intersections and roundabouts. The NRA’s traffic data collection programme on Grand Cayman will be used in future road planning. The information will be collected via “turning movement counts” over seven-hour durations at the 40 busiest intersections and via 152 “automatic traffic recorders” being placed on highways and arterial roadways.
Officials said that drivers may have already noticed workers with clipboards along the roadsides and motorists are asked to drive cautiously during the survey duration. The work is being done by staff from Servicios Mexicanos de Ingeniería Civil, a Mexican engineering firm that won the contract through a bidding process.
NRA Board Chairman Donovan Ebanks said, “The NRA Board recognises that, in order to contribute effectively to the government’s commitment to ‘build smart modern infrastructure’, we needed to both garner better data and enhance our ability to use it.”
He continued, “Unlike counterpart agencies such as CUC and the Water Authority, who get monthly measures of their customers’ consumption, the NRA does not. Hence the need for us to collect comprehensive data, at least annually, on how many vehicles and what types are using our roads and going through our intersections and roundabouts. This information will assist in our day-to-day planning and will be a fundamental input into the traffic demand and traffic operational models that we are working towards bringing on line by the end of 2016.
“The combination of regular comprehensive counts and up-to-date traffic models are to transportation planning and road network management what good blood and x-ray labs are to an emergency room and hospital,” he added.
Data collection should be complete within a month. Motorists or other residents with any questions on this exercise may call the NRA on 9467780.
Category: Local News
we need to do something to prevent more cars on the road. our driving generation is just getting bigger and there shouldn’t be 2.5 cars per household. there’s only so much expanding our road networks will do. an island as young as ours needs some serious foresight when it comes to these sorts of things. government should fix the roads we have, spend money on proper public transportation and work toward incentivizing residents to use it. traffic’s only going to continue to get worse and money will continue to be wasted on accommodating a problem that cannot be contained.
After 6 phone calls to the NRA re a dangerous situation regarding a sidewalk accident about to happen across the road from Wendys on w/bay road.Have watched 3 walkers/joggers trip and fall on a raised section of the area and its only a matter of time before someone trips and falls into the path of an oncoming car.The message I get when I call is that it has been put on list to be dealt with but in the meantime someone will fall get seriously hurt and sue the Cayman Govt.I hope someone finally gets the message that this needs to be fixed YESTERDAY.
Remember folks, please drive on the left!
that’s brilliant! conducting the survey AFTER the plans are approved and the digging starts…..nothing to see here!!! nothing at all!!
Mexicans to count cars, LOL!
What happened to the island wide roads safety survey conducted a couple of years ago? It was never published. Was anything implemented? Why was it done than?
There are over 40,000 cars on island and 1 out of every 4 car on the road is a truck.
This exercise is a joke. What indeed does NRA do with these statistics except help it construct more poorly-designed roundabouts, more poorly marked roads and more poorly-maintained road signage.
Come on NRA do all of your job, not just a part!
It beggars belief that it has taken the NRA 15 years to recognise the vital importance of island wide traffic surveys. I can only asume their own empoloyees have complained to their bosses about how long it takes them to get to work. Too many civil servants exist in a state of suspended animation.