Airport to cut trees in nearby park
(CNS): A number of trees will be bulldozed next week as part of the Owen Roberts International Airport expansion project, officials have said. The trees at the Airport Park across from Foster’s supermarket are blocking visibility for air-traffic controllers managing aircraft on the newly extended runway, according to the Cayman Islands Airports Authority. Meanwhile, work will begin Friday on the new airport connector road.
On Friday government officials with be gathering for the official groundbreaking of the new road, which will link ORIA area to the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and provide an alternate route to North Sound Road.
Phase One of the project will run from the end of Sparky Drive north for about 0.3 mile and then in a westerly direction another half mile to intersect with the roundabout just south of the National Gallery on Esterley Tibbetts Highway. The NRA has contracted Decco Ltd, part of DART’s real estate division, to provide project management services.
Then, next Wednesday the trees at the Airport Park will be removed and land will also cleared near the Cricket Pitch. “The clearing of trees at the Airport Park has become necessary to provide Air Traffic Control with better visibility of aircraft maneuvering on the newly extended runway at the westerly section of the airfield on Grand Cayman,” airport officials stated. “The clearing of land by the cricket field is necessary to remove the vegetation penetrating the flight path for landing and departing aircraft.”
Category: development, Local News
11 14
Cayman Brac has no pandemic!!!!
Flights are open to and from there. Inter island air traffic is ok. These were not evacuation flights. Brackers and other folk paid for their tickets. It is only sensible to have flights not come in right now from overseas because the pandemic is still going on overseas.
I’ve never understood why there is a park there at all. Such a weird place for a park.
It’s a nice little park considering it’s all jammed in between the airport fence, the road and Fosters. May I suggest that whoever is in charge just pick up the equipment and move it all to make a new park in a different spot somewhere nicer nearby. This spot has too much traffic, too much noise and as of now too little shade.
To hell with asking Dart to maintain the median along the ETH!! Dart built most of the highway at its own expense (in return for duty waivers and other concessions, no doubt) but now that it’s public, why can’t NRA maintain it??!
NRA get off your asses and clean up the place and finish Elgin Avenue roadworks!! Disgusting!!
Get a notepad and read the four versions of the NRA Agreement and then tabulate the go-forward value of what DART got versus that forfeited by the Cayman public. Note the dates and try to reconcile the promises that were made and withdrawn. Note all of the time-fused provisions that relinquish their responsibilities, and then read the parties who signed off on all of this. Very educational reading.
What the hell we need an airport for?
Definitely don’t need one right now and it feels as if we won’t need one anytime in the near future.
Just cut them all down. Nobody needs shade in a park! Besides, they drop unsightly dead leaves that litter he ground.
Moron. Idiot. OR…just a Troll?
Or sarcasm…
Looking at Google maps it would appear the sight line is interrupted by Islands Air’s hangar as well. Going to knock that down? Thought not.
where is the LOL button
If they paid their apron fees we could build a new, taller tower.
Always destroying something for bigger and better.
The same idiots that protested installing a car park at Smith’s Cove will now say these are sacred trees – found only in Cayman, and only in this small 2×4 park…
Moronic idiot. You really wanted a cheesy, crappy, ugly plaza at beautiful Smith’s Cove? SMH…….
Add a storey to the Control Tower, whist the airport’s closed, then maybe they can see over the top of Juju’s magnificent “arches”.
I watched a couple of days ago as two NRA ford pickup trucks came through the Parkway neighborhood patching holes. There were two guys, one in each truck. One guy sat in his truck as the other filled holes with a black substance.
Whilst I appreciate the attention to my neighborhood, the waste of resources is unbelievable.
I really have no problems with cutting down the trees if they are blocking visibility of pilots flying in to the airport. Having said that I wish the Government/Airport Authority /NRA, whichever entity is responsible had gone on to say that a comparable number of sustainable trees would be planted elsewhere to compensate. Planting trees as simple as it might seem to some is very important in reducing global warming. You might say that our effort will not help but it certainly will. Try walking two miles in an area without trees then go walk two miles under the shade of trees- breath in the fresh oxygen – and truthfully enjoy the difference. No, I am not a scientist but I believe in planting trees and do so in my little 2×4 garden and it does make a huge difference when I spend time out there. Help save the plant, PLANT A TREE! Blessing to all.
Our school requested some free ones for our grounds and were approved.
There might still be some available if you are interested.
The form is here.
https://dart.ky/about-us/community#
55 seconds long very interesting video. Dancing Aphids – Radar Excitation..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=018C2oG2Rcs
I bet there are no studies in Cayman even though airport is situated in the middle of residential area.
Imagine what happens to human cells.
P.S. I believe though Cayman Airport has no radar. Still interesting to know.
I cant for the life me figure out why Caymanians are so quick to criticize their own. Cayman is Paradise, you guys are doing a great job. This country is the envy of many. Stop slaughtering your government and the services you get. I also want to say to the ungrateful and hypocritical expats that come here. Stop belittling the people of this island. Your country is no better or else you would not come here. Many of you have lazy people of counsel estates, your governments tax the life out of you/us and many of you/us have crime ridden homelands. For the life of me, speak good of this Paradise we are lucky to call home. I am just in shock of some of the mean, unproductive comments I read on here at times. Come on people of Cayman we can treat each other better. Don’t spoil this Paradise!
The Mount Trashmore is a landmark on GoogleEarth . If there were accurate cancer statistics Cayman would probably be in the top 25 countries with highest rates per 100,000 people
Other than that it is Paradise, indeed.
Who the hell are you to call expats hypocrites?
Keep your self important views to yourself.
Great comment 9:19! I agree with you 100%.
I assure you that many readers, Caymanian or ex-pat, share your positive attitude.
all this tearing down of trees in the name of development and so called progress they seem to forget trees are life literally they give oxygen, so keep on tearing them down..
In countries like Singapore, trees are considered a resource. They are moved, rather than butchered.
This is absolute and utter rubbish a simple radar unit would suffice and has been offered nearly 2 years ago I have been made to understand with a drone protection package but alas not until we remove this sitting government and their very corrupt boards of special interest minions and cronies our precious environment will continue to be damaged and destroyed Cutting down entire shaded trees when they could merely trimmed them back or cut their tops out. I guess that’s too much work for some wow! why did they plant them in the first place,did they not think they would grow tall ? Probably not our government seldom thinks!
The NRA can even finish the mess they have left in Elgin Avenue or paint the lines on the harbour front. I have seen so many near misses with cars trying to turn right into Cardinal Avenue.
They seem to be able to install millions of dollars worth of unnecessary guard rail on the ETH all by themselves though
Doesn’t have anything to do with NRA, just bad driving at its best.
Quite right Elgin Avenue is a disaster particularly after all the rain. White lines need be repainted all over the place including North Church Street. also Yellow lines are needed outside the old Fish Market. Anyone can park there and an accident is just waiting to happen. With so much unemployment the NRA [‘ Not Readily Available’] needs to get its act in order by taking on more employees and completing all the overdue projects.
Hello Mr. C. Johnson:
Always love your insightful comments.
Maybe someone like you could call and suggest that all trees be trimmed off from the tops and not have the ugly messes like the road crews leave along the roads.
When are we going to get people to be aware of the importance of trees, mangroves and other plants. Looks like you and Berna are the only ones that understand that plants give us oxygen.
Debbie
They can’t paint the road due out of stock paints! They are waiting for next shipment.
Do they ever “Plan” anything. Why are these major roadworks always left till the year before an election?
😂 Imagine that they need management services from dart ltd so what happen to nra bosses so useless should feel shame worthless
Just read on TripAdvisor from a regular Cayman poster that no US planes are landing in Cayman until April, 2021!!!!!! Can anyone clarify if that is correct? Please let us know the truth so we can forget this month to month opening date changes and can go ahead and book elsewhere For our winter escapes.
April, wow!!
Ummm, you can still come. Just through quarantine.
On a private jet maybe, but if US planes are not flying than most families can not get there.
Our National Debtline is flying on a regular
8.20am Most appropriate , it’s more a debtline than an airline. Just wait until you see what this year’s subsidy will be, it will make Mt Trashmore look like an anthill.
But of course we can rely on CAL in crisis, look at the 2 evacuation flights put on to the Brac the night before the 25mph storm hit.
Close the Turtle Prison.
11 14
Cayman Brac has no pandemic!!!!
Flights are open to and from there. Inter island air traffic is ok. These were not evacuation flights. Brackers and other folk paid for their tickets. It is only sensible to have flights not come in right now from overseas because the pandemic is still going on overseas.
For now the date is October 2020, but that’s likely to change again as the world is still in chaos, especially in the US. Don’t think anyone would be able to confirm that April date for you except a GOV official that leaks information. Shouldn’t be hard to find one.
Hard to find an official that leaks Cayman info. from here, so if you hear anything soon, please post. We reallly would like to come down (it’s been a long time), but if we don’t hear soon, will book for Dec and March for elsewhere. A 14 day quarantine won’t work for us as it will be a week long vacation for each period.
The trees have to be removed, cameras aren’t a safe option and cutting isn’t a solution. I know from experience. But the trees can be saved and relocated, as someone else suggested. It doesn’t always have to be destroy but seems our public agencies know no other way.
CIG can ask for help if it doesn’t know to relocate trees. Please call the Agriculture Dept. or the Dart nursery and ask them to safely remove the trees.
Putting them in downtown GT for shade and along the Linford Pierson would be a sustainable alternative.
Add a storey to the Control Tower, whist the airport’s closed, then maybe they can see over the top of Juju’s magnificent “arches”.
Can’t the trees be moved to say a “desert” like – down town George Town, for example?
Give the starlings a place to roost in the evenings besides telegraph wires? Give shade to people and encourage pedestrians in central GT?
Actually the NRA does nothing, I asked them why they are not maintaining the median and roundabouts from Public Beach to the Yacht Club and they responded that it is not their responsibility that it is Dart’s and that there is currently a dispute over the arrangements. The road is completely unsafe with bad sight lines and overgrown landscaping. How can the NRA say they are not responsible for maintaining a public road?
Yes I thought that was strange as well. The median has not been landscaped since the lockdown. Is Dart no longer getting it landscaped? Who exactly is in charge here? The NRA or Dart. Someone better come up with a solution soon as it is way too overgrown. I’m actually surprised no news outlets have reported on this. The median needs to be maintained and the roundabout. This is ridiculous!!
Image that. The Government pay you to build a road through your land because you are a poor Caymanian with no money.
Perhaps Dart is running out of money? There was a lot of cut back prior to the Covid lockdown – community events, sponsorships etc.
All I know is that from Yacht Club to the Dump/new airport road round about looks unkempt and run down…..
Minister Hew, please ask Dart to spruce up the median with its hallmark landscaping.
(There, there. T’will be sorted in a fortnight. He and BFF Eric Bush can get anything they want from the fraternising siamese twins in charge of the Magical Kingdom.)
Joey “Camanaboi”Hew is Dart’ Best Buy since the Big Mac and fries!
I’m not saying trees should be cut down, but maybe they truly can’t see anything and wouldn’t you want to know that air traffic can properly direct the plane you’re in?
Ohhh no they can see just fine cause no trees exceed it’s presents onto the controlled areas.
Unbelievable That the NRA would have to have Decco supervise road building. What do they do these days
I believe the job was subject to a bidding process. Did you submit yours?
I believe you miss the point.
“Unbelievable That the NRA would have to have [anyone else] supervise road building. What do they do these days”
Now do you see the logical problem of having a National Roads (building & maintaining) Authority that can’t build their own roads?
Unbelievable that the NRA would have to have Decco supervise road construction. What do they do these days.
Why bulldozed? Can the tree tops not just be cut off thereby leaving the lower branches for shade? Then in another 5/10 years do the same again.
Patch the hull with duct tape until it falls off or do a proper one time job.
Put in concrete trees, they always stay the same height.
Or leave the trees alone and put a camera on a pole with a video feed into the control tower.