Cardinall Avenue closure to traffic confirmed
The stretch of Cardinall Avenue between Seafarers Way and Albert Panton Street will close to general traffic on Monday, 14 March, planning officials have confirmed. Work to pedestrianize the street will begin following the closure, which is part of Phase 1 of the district enhancement and George Town revitalization project.
Planning said that all measuring and surveying requirements for this work have been done and the whole thing should take around five months to complete.
From Monday, only the eastern section of the road, between Albert Panton Street and Edward Street, will remain open to general one-way traffic.
Colin Lumsden, George Town Manager and Revitalisation Initiative Coordinator, said the initial work was done without closing the road to general traffic, which gave the department time to carry out more stakeholder meetings.
“We hope the ample notice, as well as the additional few weeks of vehicular access to Cardinall Avenue, has helped local businesses and the general public to prepare for the new flow of traffic into central George Town once the road closes,” he said.
Cardinall Avenue will remain open to foot traffic for access to shops, cafes and businesses, which continue operations as usual.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Local News
I have said it before, simple, South sound road 2 lanes to Smith road 2 lanes into GT or turn left on Elgin avenue and right to Harquail bypass going to West Bay, Camana Bay, 7 mile beach. After 3pm turn Smith road to South Sound 2 lanes going back to Eastern Districts. Just saved Government a million dollars on consultants fees. “Yours for a better Cayman”
Build a new post office on the site of the Glass House and turn the GT Post Office into a new tourist attraction (2nd museum) using relics from the museum’s stored artifacts. The current post office has no parking and has outgrown its location.
I know it’s a bit late but if you must close off Cardinal Ave. then do it with those water filled barriers, put a few “planters” around and wait until after next high season. Then if we are all wrong it can be done permanently at a slow pace.
I have written before, that the beautification of George Town should include an attraction for locals and tourists alike. With specialist engineers the old Administration Building, “the Glass House”, could be scientifically “cleaned” and made habitable. Once complete the Cayman Islands Museum should be housed there, with plenty of space to display what is currently stored in a building behind Pasadora Place. The surrounding grounds offer a fine park for leisure and relaxation.
I know that before a cruise ship enters anyone port there is an on-board orientation meeting hosted by the Cruise Director. He will specifically recommend certain stores that passengers should visit for the best prices. Before the ship leaves port he will go ashore and collect his commission from the stores based on sales made. Some of these Directors end up getting very wealthy.
Not true. I have managed a store in GT for nearly 20 years, and this has never been the case during my tenure. It is a flat fee to be on their list of preferred stores.
Mervyn, that was before, now its the large cruise company that rake it in and the company on the island have to pay for the advertisement.
Every time I go into town sometime in the morning or lunch time, I ask my wife where are the tourists from the hotel? Are they buying lunch, watches, gold, perfume, rum? I don’t see any taxis bringing anyone to Eden Rock, Lobster Pot, stores museum. What are all these stay overs hotel guests doing? Night clubs? Where are they? Without cruise ships Cayman is doomed, accept it or show us proof.
Yes absolutly Mr. Mervyn.
Everyone knows this is an idiotic plan. Everyone knows this will not benefit the people of Cayman. Everyone knows this will negatively impact commuters. Everyone knows this is pork, aimed at benefiting an oligarchy. Bottom line. You have a vote, use it while you still can. Their Next move might be even worse.
Now people from South Church St. will have to turn right at the prancing policeman that they are bringing back at the same time and ignore the traffic lights
8:25, next time you see a tourist walking around glued to their map, ask to see it and then you will see which shops the cruise ships own.
No one in the cruise industry owns shops on Cardinal Ave. it is a lie. I work there. I know my neighbors. This hurts those independent businesses. Maybe Kirk’s will benefit, but only because the plan to lease out units. At least that is the word on the street.
Our business used to be on that map, and we are not cruise ship owned. We are 100% locally owned. Being on the map is open to any business that wishes to pay to be on the map. It is mostly Kirk stores that were left by 2020. Most others had pulled out by then. Cruisers just do not spend much, so it is not worth the cost for many businesses.
Mervyn Cumber – you said “Town planning gone mad”? There has been very little “planning” been involved in ANY Government actions since John Cumber was Administrator!
Chief pirate Jim Bodden destroyed the vision of Sir John’s and his team of local leaders and Cayman has never recovered!!
Why bother it’s crap in town, is it so the vast fatties from the USA can waddle down and then swing a left to BK without having to cross the road.
BK in Town is closed.
This is such a funny comment. All slim models in the Caribbean?
I know it’s been repeated over and over but this is such a bad decision. It is essentially doubling-down on the strategy that has made the area a place where no one would ever want to spend any time let alone live and will inevitably make a bad traffic problem worse. Best case not that much worse but worse nonetheless.
Add the return of cruise ships without any thoughtful changes and it’s a depressing thought. What a waste of an opportunity.
It doesn’t matter who initially thought of it, but it’s a problem that could be addressed now by the present government. They weren’t bound to implement it but they have chosen to. What a shame.
Isn’t it so ironic starsucks opens just in time for the tourist dollar while the other businesses paid staff / rent etc while waiting… 🤔
I’d say good luck to the tourists in Starbucks. They cant handle the current volume of customers, let alone a bunch of tourists. Its also in the worst possible place. Theres hardly anywhere for anyone to sit when they eventually get their coffee.
There will be another one somewhere around Harbour Drive don’t worry. Agreed on the current location though.
Or they run out of food… All. The. Time.
(Camana Bay)
Today they ran out of sugar! What next, run out of coffee?
Go to the Daily Grind upstairs next door. Better coffee and been there for over 20 years.
9:27 a, – Stasucks need to STOP using disposable plastics!!
So in the future if coming from South Church Street you will need to go to Fort Street and turn in order to post a letter. Town Planning gone mad!
Could always take Warwick Drive and Goring Avenue… but guaranteed that everyone will make illegal turns directly onto Goring!
Well, you can’t park anywhere near the PO anyway so ….If they want to revitalize GT maybe some parking for the residents and stay over tourists instead of creating a precinct for cruisers who will all be gone by 5 and spend little anyway.
This is a terrible idea. Before closing the road, build a suitable park & ride, test the waters . Introduce/invite a wider range of trendy/ fashion store that local and tourist people can actually shop at instead of shit#y jewelry and perfume stores.
Bring more ”local/Caribbean” food options, we need entertainment, activities.
Closing Cardinall Ave + adding in about six additional crosswalks through town + return of cruise shippers (you know, the people who spend very little money while on land) = total, utter, complete, gridlock.
#WorldClass
Why cant They close a street vehicles don’t use that much like Goring ave that you can’t turn into anymore or out onto Seafarers way? Plus it would have juxtaposed nicely with Bayshore mall.
Stakeholder meetings? You mean Kirk Freeport and Island Companies? What about the public?!
Stakeholder meetings? You mean Kirk Freeport and DART/Island Companies?
Fixed it for you
My PO Box is at the Central Post Office, I am a stakeholder, I was not consulted.
So much effort to obviously funnel low value cruise ship tourists into the same tacky jewelry and souvenir traps that haven’t changed at all visually for as far as I can remember, and I’m nearly 30 years old…
The people making these decisions don’t have to live with them, just reap the benefits. Which is why they’re so off base. How often do you think our upper 1% drive through town to see the mess that’s there on a daily basis when tourists are around?
This place is just… wow.
3/4s of these tacky shops are actually owned by the cruise ships; that’s why you see the same stores at every port a ship visits; the only thing different is the jurisdiction….. and why you see 90% of the visitors walking around with a map visiting all these shops and getting a pos trinket at the end of their walk around GT…..benefit to Cayman?
Nada.
Ummm. I am totally against this boneheaded project…but exactly which store do you have evidence are owned by cruise companies? I know of none. The only one with a big stake is Kirk’s. So if anyone wants it it is them, because everyone else is to small and not worth government’s time.
Going down the street… Penha group owns Victoria’s Secret, MAC and Penha. Kirk Freeport owns the eponymous Kirk Freeport, the Perfumerie, the Perfumerie 2, Caraloha, Swatch, Fossil, their repair jewelry workshop (second floor by Swatch) and that colour changing T- shirt store. There is Magnum Jewellers, Sand Sea & Sun, Sterling and Stone, Sanisha’s, BRM, Parcel, and Gelato & Co. And of course the old Scotia Bank, which is now Govt. None are cruise owned.
The Govt is cruise owned. It is doing what the cruise industry wants. Not what the Caymanian people want.
Lol, true
8:25, next tie you see a tourist walking around glued to their map, ask to see it and then you will see which shops the cruise ships own.
Not cruise owned but stores have to pay the cruise companies to recommend them to the tourists. Sort of like paying for Mafia protection.
How are you not mentioning Island Companies??? ALL Dart owned.
I own one of the affected stores and we are absolutely 100% against this farce. This is horrible, terrible, and down right business crushing for us. We are a local business, hiring local employees, serving a local clientele. We have been thrown under the metaphorical bus. ‘Cause everyone knows their will be no real bus until 2099. So disheartened for all of the locals who did the right thing to be pants by idiots. It is so sad to see.
CI Govt never ceases to amaze that in the year 2022; almost 2yrs after the last cruise ship graced our shores; they wait until now…
Their motto really needs to be set in stone as “Fire, Ready, Aim”.
Complete muppets.
No forethought to what this closure means! A better idea would have been to make it a single lane closed from 930A until 330P and for special events as they do now, and open the balance of the time for residents to use to get to/from work.
To close this forever to travel is asking for trouble. You’re going to make so many people mad…
No such work as ‘Pedestrianize’.
Another bastardisation of the English language by American teachers in our schools.
#JustSayinBobo
Irregardless…
Bastardization..
QED
Pedestrian malls were all the rage in the late 50’s and 60’s in the US. Most have been reopened to traffic now as it was recognized that they were ineffective in encouraging central city redevelopment. CIG as usual is 50 years late.
I disagree, they are actually wonderful to visit if done right. Problem is there isn’t anything worth spending more than 30 mins in town over. Maybe add some quality restaurants and more shops and get rid of the same crappy trinket stores owned by the cruise ship cartel.
How many people on this artist’ rendition are starting at their smartphones? 🤦♀️
I see six.
I see dead people
All of them?
718am I am down with you on that one and yet there is 5000 cars sitting in Kingston wharf to come on to this island and now they come with this Cluster@#%? to further jam up traffic and road building is not a solution. Stop importing Cars into Cayman Stop work permit holders running this car importation racket please . Even parking meters in central a George Town is a far better idea now than this Horse$#%@ idea it’s simply going to create a gridlock on the outskirts of town people not going to stop driving and ride buses in to closed off George Town .
Wait. Let me get this straight. They waited until the tourists are actually arriving on ships to start a FIVE MONTH construction project?!? Colin is so out of his depth.
Mr. Lumsden is talking out of his you know where. Exactly what are his qualifications to manage this anyway?
He has no qualifications, other than being a civil servant.
A town planner with appropriate qualifications and experience is needed here, and I’ll bet the first thing he would say is “ why are doing this?”.
How do we accommodate rerouted traffic on other already narrow congested roads, and obviously, where will everybody park..?”
closing a road with no real traffic management plan or other proper town planning measures….
weclome to wonderland.
Three consecutive no right hand turns allowed if you are coming from South Church Street. Walkers Rd. is set to become 10 times more hellish than it already is…
#WorldClass
OMG PACT WTH … you are killing what is left of my business. In addition to letting that monstrosity suckbucks into Georgetown. Do you really care for the average Caymanian person.
This was decided way before PACT dingaling.
But you go ahead and blame your woes on them.
They could change it if they wanted, when is anything written in stone in Cayman except where tbe money is being reaped by the chosen few.
You realise this who idea didn’t come from PACT right…. I saw the plans back in 2019 and they were actually proposed who-knows-when…
We need to get over the notion of each government undoing the work of the last and have some plans that are actually for the benefit of Caymanians (not saying this is a good plan) and take them to maturity through however many administrations.
But I 100% agree that Starbucks needs to go!
“For the new flow of traffic … “ – there won’t be a flow of traffic, it will be gridlocked! And where are people supposed to park for these “shops cafes and businesses”?
Why wouldn’t they close the road temporarily as a test, say a month (when schools are open and now that less people are Covid isolated) to gauge what the impact to traffic would be? Wait that makes sense, my bad.
Instead their approach – close it permanently without testing then ignore the manufactured traffic nightmare and public outcry. Can’t make this crap up. Frustrating!
This makes no sense. And Colin, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes in the following months, when this idea creates more problems than solutions or benefits, and essentially you will have more than 75% of the island’s population saying, I told you so!
He has no qualifications, other than being a civil servant.
A town planner with appropriate qualifications and experience is needed here, and I’ll bet the first thing he would say is “ why are doing this?”.
How do we accommodate rerouted traffic on other already narrow congested roads, and obviously, where will everybody park..?”
You said this already… Just saying.
Cafes ???
The audacity of this government is unparalleled. HOW can this decision be made knowing what this will do to traffic. I am disgusted at the lack of thought, planning and brain cells.
This government is a flipping joke. From idiotic quarantines, to self serving Cruise ship concessions, to useless mask mandates, and bull$hit PCR exit testing, to getting in bed with an abusive misogynist. They have done 10x more damage then good. They have done everything wrong. They should be ashamed of their actions. Now they want to fU traffic for everyone? Hmmm, let me guess someone in their little oligarchy will gain. UThe do not deserve to call themselves Caymanians. Disgusting.
So the 5 months of work will essentially start the day cruise ships return. Nice timing.
Five months to complete? The Empire State Building (102 storey’s) was constructed in one year 45 days!
How is it possible that the people of these Islands have no say? How is it possible that something so detrimental to the average Caymanian is allowed without review? I guess it is because those in power gain. Terrible, awful idea, and what sucks most, we have to pay for it. Let’s get out the vote! Get them out.
Keep voting fools
Wow! This is the most stupid thing PACT have done yet, which is a feat in and of itself.. No one, absolutely no one, wants this. It hurts Caymanians, it hurts businesses, it creates traffic havoc, it is costly, and will cause to pain to the people of this Island. Why? Only thing I can guess is someone benefits financially. Otherwise…why?
Parking? Maybe make some of that available ya fools.
On an island of quite ridiculous decision making, this is close to taking the biscuit. Can someone from CIG please explain why this is a good idea? It’ll cause traffic chaos elsewhere in town. A totally dumbass decision. Walkers Road, Goring Ave and Elgin Ave will only get worse.
Closing the bypass in Bodden Town because people were using it to bypass the town is better!
Ugly and cheap. No imagination. Some street lamps from Victorian England, and some non indigenous palms (that break in half in 80mph gusts) stolen from Camana Bay.
I think they are a job-lot on special from Restoration Hardware