New plan to tackle morning traffic jam cancelled

| 01/10/2019 | 168 Comments
  • Cayman News Service
  • Cayman News Service

(CNS) UPDATED: Plans for traffic diversions in the Red Bay/Prospect area that were due to begin Wednesday morning (2 October) were cancelled Tuesday night until further notice. The diversions were said to be an effort to tackle the increasing traffic congestion for drivers commuting from the Eastern Districts into George Town. Police said that the RCIPS Traffic and Roads Policing Unit, the NRA and Traffic Management Panel “will be conducting additional aerial review of the traffic flow in these areas” Wednesday morning. 

If the diversions had gone ahead, they were planned to last from 6:00am to 9:00am, when police were going to divert all eastbound traffic left along Shamrock Road after passing through Grand Harbour.

No vehicles would have been permitted to travel along the East West Arterial until the Chrissie Tomlinson Roundabout in an effort to make the Red Bay roundabout flow more freely.

Under the plan, westbound traffic would not be allowed to turn left onto Old Prospect Road before the Chrissie Tomlinson Roundabout to prevent drivers from beating the congestion at that roundabout. Police said there would be traffic diversions in place at the King’s Roundabout and the Linford Pierson Highway Roundabout junction with Agnes Way in an effort to improve and speed up the the flow of traffic from the east into George Town.

Traffic officers were going to be present in these areas directing traffic. 

The ministry responsible for infrastructure and roads has been battling a further surge in traffic congestion since the schools returned last month. A combination of a growing population living in the Eastern Districts and a change in the school start time has added to an already sticky traffic problem.

Last month Planning Minister Joey Hew held an emergency meeting with all of the stakeholders, where a number of potential solutions were discussed, such as the creation of a private schools bus service and widening the existing roads.

The report on CNS attracted more than 200 comments, demonstrating the massive concern the public has about the current congestion.


Share your vote!


How do you feel after reading this?
  • Fascinated
  • Happy
  • Sad
  • Angry
  • Bored
  • Afraid
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: , ,

Category: Local News

Comments (168)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Incentives for businesses to open in the Eastern districts and water taxis like the ones in Venice.

  2. Patience please says:

    Yep, and I watch as car try to speed by me in the turning lane in front of Savannah Primary School because they do not want to wait in line. These same people only succeed in getting ahead by one or two cars at the most.

    People – this lane was meant as a turning lane for the school and for the residents of Newlands leaving home in the morning. STOP using the lane as a speed way!

    • Anonymous says:

      The same people who drive in the right lane until it stops and then push their way into the left lane. They are the reason the left lane is slower before you get to the roundabouts! STOP letting them in

  3. Anonymous says:

    As I sit here in the morning traffic on Prospect Dr I realize half these people don’t even live in this area. They have cut through to beat traffic only making it worse. I wonder what actually is going to be done to fix the traffic problem because I can’t even get out of my own neighborhood, my own street in a timely manner. I’ve been sitting here for a half an hour. There is something severely wrong with the system and they need to do more than sit on their ass and try to block traffic.

    • Anonymous says:

      I completely agree!!! I sat in traffic for another 20 minutes, so instead of a 20 minute drive to work it was now a 40 minute drive to work which is at CB from marina drive. it took me 17 minutes to leave my driveway and enter onto the roundabout at the car wash—–

Leave a Reply to Patience please Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.