All of Cardinall Ave closes for more street work

| 29/07/2022 | 61 Comments
Artist’s rendition of Cardinall Ave when the work is completed

(CNS): As the pedestrianisation of Cardinall Avenue in George Town, which began back in January, continues, the remaining stretch of the road is now closed to traffic between Albert Panton Street and Edward Street to allow work on that section of the road, according to a release from the infrastructure ministry. This will include enhancements to infrastructure, new landscaping and paving. The road is expected to be closed to vehicles for four weeks but it remains open to pedestrians.

“This project has not been without its challenges, as we navigate through the supply chain issues and scarcity and rising costs of construction materials that are being experienced globally,” explained Colin Lumsden, George Town Manager and Revitalisation Initiative Coordinator.

However, the work is on track to be completed by early autumn, “thanks to the hard work and support of our project partners, as well as the cooperation of local businesses and the public”, he said.

For the duration of the road’s closure, Albert Panton Street will be rezoned into a two-way street and local deliveries to businesses along the eastern section of Cardinall Avenue can be made on that road via a specially marked delivery zone.

Over the last seven months work has been going on between Seafarers Way and Albert Panton Street, which is now being prepared for final paving as the underground utilities, street lighting and landscaping are finished. The final phase of the project will see the repaving of the section of Seafarers Way directly in front of Cardinall Avenue and the current taxi rank, creating a waterfront pocket park with seating and greenery.

Mature trees have already been planted throughout the project area to create additional shading, including two 60-year-old silver thatch palm trees.

The George Town Revitalisation Initiative is a multi-year government project led by the ministry and designed to bring life and vibrancy back to Cayman’s capital. Robson Construction is leading the Central Business District Enhancement Project Phase One works with support from long-standing partners of the revitalisation project, the National Roads Authority, Caribbean Utilities Company and Apec Consulting Engineers Limited.


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Category: development, Local News

Comments (61)

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  1. Sick of the bull says:

    So…little update from the front line of Croneyland absudia. Govt has taken yet another 6 parking spaces away! There is NO space for deliveries, but four, 4, I kid you not, 4 taxi spaces. Why don’t they just set our businesses on fire with flam throwers? Oh, I know, because there is no way for emergency services to navigate around the pathetic palm trees.

  2. erindo says:

    Reality is, no matter how good this will look at the end of it, if the same old boring shops remain nobody will go. We need entertainment. we need fun and affordability. the jewelry and perfume stores are done, cooked roasted! We need a fresh approach and creative people to be involved in this project. The current gov has dated and old minds. I’ll be very surprised if it’s still busy here 3 months after opening. an old dog with new clothes on is still an old dog!

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  3. Anonymous says:

    We need public bathrooms, more parking, and shadier trees. Trees really change the atmosphere of an area; if you don’t have adequate shade, the place looks uninviting, hence why Heroes Square is always desolate, no one wants to stand in the sun looking at a fountain that barely works.

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    • Anonymous says:

      As a tourist, I always want to check out the town, but can never find parking. Been down to Cayman numerous times, but just end up driving searching aimlessly for parking and then leave the area.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Is it taking so long because nobody has any expertise in how to build a surface that people actually walk on?

    Do they need to do a focus group involving real live pedestrians?

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Best of all the project broke ground the same week the cruise ships came back. They had nearly 2 years of zero traffic and pedestrians to have got this built!

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Horrible choice with the coconut trees. Cayman needs shade not cheap tourist bs. 8 months of work to date no less. Should have been complete within 1 month. Who is lining their pockets on this deal ?

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    • Anon says:

      “Project management” in Cayman means managing to go over budget and over schedule no matter how simple the task. Bonus points for greasing the most palms.

  7. Anon says:

    I cannot believe they thought palm trees would provide shading. I’m very disappointed that they used palm trees. It would have been great to have kept the black olive trees, or choose another beautiful tree that would actually create shade. Certainly some of those large sun tarps to hang would have be good as well.
    I am grateful for the enhancements, but we don’t have to throw coconut and other palm trees around, because unless they are in a grove they do not provide enough shade.

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  8. Anon says:

    I cannot believe they thought palm trees would provide shading. I’m very disappointed that they used palm trees. It would have been great to have kept the black olive trees, or choose another beautiful tree that would actually create shade. Certainly some of those large sun tarps to hang would have be good as well.
    I am grateful for the enhancements, but we don’t have to throw coconut and other palm trees around, because unless they are in a grove they do not provide enough shade.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I doubt very much that CIG is just laying a few pavers.

      I saw telecommunications trucks parked on site for the past 2 weeks.

      If you can’t find shade under a palm branch go on a diet.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Miami is actually replacing a lot of it’s palms with shadier trees. So this is not some new issue. And that was rude of you to say. Palm trees are tall and skinny, they have never provided adequate shade for anyone, skinny or plus size.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    I was in a Punta Cana resort and they had wooden (or other material) pergola shades above sidewalks and benches. I thought it was an excellent solution.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    we can’t move on if we don’t address and admit the following:
    there is no-one in cig or civil service with the expertise to handle a major town revitalisation project.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Rumours were the compaction wasn’t done according to some nimby so it had to be redone up to three times or more for a walking path.

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  12. Not perfect says:

    Well, somebody is doing something as according to Logic they cut through a cable and e-mail was out for nearly 2 days!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Shade trees? They picked the wrong trees 100%. This is as bad as Hero’s Square which is just a totally useless heat reflector…they can’t even put in a proper water fountain. It’s sad because if done right GT could be really nice.
    Why is there never any public input on these things? Usually, a city will have at least three options for a project and there will be a presentation put on and projects will be put to a vote. They put mock-ups up for a few weeks at City Hall or where ever and then the people pick the final design. This is just NEVER EVER done here. It’s unbelievable.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Hahaha, we know what’s best for you, trust us.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Well, they did try to have public meetings. At least twice. Each time the public said they hated the plans being presented and said what they did want. So they gave up asking the public (or going for the full revitalisation plan it seems) and just ripped up a road for palm trees that we’ll have to live with.

      • Anonymous says:

        Yes, sadly many in CIG have strong phobias towards work and answering phones, I guess it’s not really their fault if they are real disabilities.

  14. Anonymous says:

    I’m hoping they installed bathroom facilities! But I haven’t heard if any. Bathrooms and water fountains are probably the most important amenities.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    This is exciting. Looking forward to these island modernizing projects. Thank you CIG!

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  16. Anonymous says:

    6 months and above to turn a 100m stretch of road into a pedestrian zone.

    My how we larrrf. What a joke. Probably about 2 weeks of actual work involved – and amazing, they wait until the fat shippers disembark to start the bloody thing.

    Thanks CIG, Love you lots!!

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  17. Elvis says:

    This has to be the longest ever job of all time in the whole history of the world. I mean what the hell are they doing behind those wooden boards for 2 years almost , seriously

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    • Anonymous says:

      The Chinese would have built an overhead rail sytem by now.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Yes, and it would have fallen on your head within 2 years, too! 😂😂😂

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        • Anonymous says:

          How little you know of Chinese road and bridge building excellence.

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        • Anonymous says:

          And yet your telephone operates impeccably. Underestimate the Chinese at your peril.

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          • Anonymous says:

            6:32 – Yes, it’s assembled in china sweat shops but designed by Americans in California. It’s called Apple.

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        • Anonymous says:

          11:20 prejudice seeps through every pore of your skin

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          • Anonymous says:

            Yes, the only skill they really have is intellectual property theft via computer hacking. Then their knock offs still end up being cheap junk. Good luck with your chinese products

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            • Anonymous says:

              Google is a great learning tool. Try a search for the number of world class roads and bridges have beem built in China over the last decade. They are engineering marvels.

              While you’re at it Google the bridges and roads initiatives that China has partnered with our neighboring countries, and compare how quickly and successfully they are built and used.

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              • Anonymous says:

                That’s all propaganda to make a ruthless regime look good. It’s called data manipulation. They also eliminate anyone in China who speaks out the truth. Why don’t you just move there so you can enjoy the world class living with access to a diluted Google for your continued education? Maybe you could assemble the next generation of phones.

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                • Anonymous says:

                  You are truly ignorant on modern day China, but such as it is from one with confirmation bias. Let’s hope you respect the Chinese in person with no prejudice.

                  • Anonymous says:

                    1:49 Are you an absent father of 10 with 10 different women? Sure sound like one. Don’t worry going to church will fix all of it.

            • Anonymous says:

              Double Digit IQ Alert!

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  18. Anonymous says:

    Some extra courses in college taught me of the different times in history and how exactly nations lost sovereign status. Though, now my well paid career keeps me pacified I often am empathetic of the indigenous people of the world.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    “Mature trees have already been planted throughout the project area to create additional shading, including two 60-year-old silver thatch palm trees”.

    I hope this isn’t implying that the silver thatch trees are supposed to be the shade…
    I understand that something the size of a bougainvillea creates a lot of mess that would have to be maintained and they are also potentially destructive, but most types of palm trees aren’t going to provide meaningful shade.

    A social space in the capital without the expectation of having to spend money is more than welcomed but I hope that it’s more inviting than Hero’s Square.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Cardinall Ave, and all the businesses there, are even more inaccessible, with zero standing/parking, and thus more or less commercially canceled by resident HNW consumers. Even when it opens, most residents will continue to avoid that area unless they want something specific.

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  21. anon says:

    The palm trees I can see through the cracks of the fence will provide zero shade for our visitors. It is mind boggling that after 7 months the work for the conversion is still not finished and will need another month to complete. How long does it take t o resurface a short road and plant a few palm trees?.

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  22. Anonymous says:

    “The Caymanian way”……build it and they will come.

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  23. Anonymous says:

    Cluster Puck.

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  24. Anonymous says:

    Somebody milking this. What in that picture explains why it’s taking this long? Couple of weeks work taking probably a year by the time they will actually finish.

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  25. Anonymous says:

    Why wasn’t this thought of before the country opened? We had time to complete these types of projects where there was less traffic, etc. blows my mind how such opportunities are constantly taken for granted and then decisions like this cause such chaos

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    • Chris Johnson says:

      Because Cayman has never thought of forward planning. This is particularly in relation to the road system. I gather we will be getting 20 new large buses. However there are little or no bus stops. So when these large buses do stop there will be further traffic delays. Bus stops are essential as currently the buses stop anywhere.

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  26. Anon says:

    Another PACT gem ,It really is pathetic planning.
    Not only did they start the moment the island opens up to tourists.
    And did nothing when the island was dead during 2 years of a pandemic.
    A developers is upto its 7th floor of a new hotel in the time they haven’t been able to put down a hundred yards of pavers ?

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    • Anon says:

      I actually am not sure this is PACT. I’m sure it was in process way before PACT. I think the Revitalisation committee was put in place before PACT.

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