Premier accepts responsibility for traffic chaos
(CNS): Premier Wayne Panton has issued an apology to the country after traffic ground to a complete halt across George Town on Friday evening when the roads along the harbour front were closed for Pirates Fest events. Thousands of people were gridlocked for hours, unable to move in any direction due to what appears to have been a poorly planned move to accommodate the festivities without sufficient diversions. Panton said it was “an inexcusable traffic jam” in which he was also stuck.
In a message posted to social media, Panton said he took complete responsibility for the jam and that he planned to address the chaos. He said it was caused by the road closures for Pirates Fest, compounded by the excessive traffic on Cayman’s roads, which he blamed on the unrestricted importation of cars.
On Thursday night, police closed Seafarers Way between Warwick Drive and Fort Street while Shedden Road was closed to westbound traffic at Elgin Avenue, with traffic diverted to Boilers Road and Fort Street. According to the police notice, this was scheduled to remain the case until Sunday night. But when he posted his message around 7pm, Panton had said he was in contact with the police commissioner about the issue.
“Like many of you, I have been in traffic for the past hour and fifteen minutes, barely able to move,” he said. “As pPremier, I take responsibility for this situation, and I sincerely apologise to all of our commuters who are having to endure this. While we do not know exactly what has caused tonight’s logjam, we certainly believe it has something to do with the Pirates Week road closures around central George Town. We apologise; I apologise. This is an intolerable disruption to your lives as you try to commute home on this Friday evening.”
Panton said the government had to “get on top” of the unrestricted importation of hundreds of cars every month.
“I can promise you that we will be moving fast to try to address this problem,” he said, stressing that the situation was unacceptable. “I have been on the phone with the commissioner of police and we are working with the Pirates Week organisers to try to determine what can be done to relieve this situation as quickly as possible, even if that means inconveniencing some of the vendors.”
Panton also committed to re-evaluating the approval process for road closures to make sure such a gridlock never happens again. Repeating his apology, he thanked people for their patience.
“I’m not even going to ask for your understanding. I just want you to know that I apologise on behalf of the government, on behalf of myself because I take responsibility for this,” Panton said as he signed off.
Stuck in their cars and going nowhere, people took to social media to vent their frustration and question how the situation was so badly managed, as stationary traffic turned the capital’s roads into car parks. The number of cars on the road, fuelled by unrestricted importation and inadequate public transport provision, was a key topic of conversation.
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Category: Local News
limit importation of cars and % of land anyone can own…including billionaires!
agree 100% and also limit the amount of land Caymanians can sell to developers
how do you limit importation of cars exactly? 1 per household, hardly fair if it’s 1 person vs 5 or 6. 1 per person, make no difference. Caymanian only, workers only, people with kids? How exactly do you propose limiting peoples ability to travel without trashing the economy? I’m going to guess YOU get to keep YOUR car because you’re special?
A fleet of short busses is in order
At the very least we can start by having a restriction on the age of cars that can be brought in.
I’m a car lover like the next guy but at least that way we’ll have vehicles that aren’t on deaths door driving straight off the container, through a back alley inspection, then onto the roads to pose a threat to everyone else on island.
I’m sorry, my car was originally imported, is now 20 years old and in better condition than most other vehicles on the road because it is properly maintained. If government inspections and police checks were done to a better standard, that in itself would wipe out all the unroadworthy vehicles.
This apology is worth as much as the hot air that blew in with it. Wayne apologising after the fact does nothing for the thousands of people who were stuck for hours on the night of the event, but it speaks to the bigger issue and the fact that the PACt Government found a traffic management plan waiting on them that was created by the last Government and have chosen to ignore it and do absolutely nothing except divert NRA Resources to North Side so Jay can get re-elected. If people do not yet see what is going on with their Govenrment if Indemendents then Cayman is lost. We shuld be out protesting for their removal right now, think about all the failures we have seen so far, all the investigations, all the “brilliant” ideas that have failed! Are we rteally going to let them off the hook again just because CMR is being paid to make excuses for them ?
I got a giggle out of his voice feigning such deep sorrow. At first I thought his prize pony had been stolen.
The traffic issues will disappear when the 20 storey buildings come into effect
Cray Cray. Going upward will only increase population. What makes you think that will resolve into less cars on the road??
Well spotted. It is called sarcasm
either you’re terrible at sarcastic remarks or you need to make it more clear on the internet.
These events should no longer be held on the waterfront downtown. Not only does it cause traffic chaos, but there is very limited parking. We’ve outgrown that area.
Hold these at festival green at Camana Bay. Or on the land where Kaaboo was held in 2109.
This is the truth from years ago. No way one of the two North – South paths can be blocked. Not even a single lane!!
Or how about the newly minted pedestrian street formerly known as Cardinal Avenue? It’s already blocked off.
We missed a great chance to deal with vehicle importation in 2004. Thanks, McBeater
All these points have been covered pretty much, but:
Number of cars is irrelevant. It’s the number of people who are able to drive them at any one time, and in many cases drive them badly. This results in blocked junctions and roundabouts, excess accidents, slower traffic due to a lack of indicator use.
Lack of enforcement. I estimate around half the cars on the road have an issue that would see them unfit to be used. Police this. Get rid of the cars with no headlights, smashed windshields, bald tires, smokey engines, broken exhausts, terrible modifications not approved on the insurance for the car…
Poor road design and infrastructure. Badly marked and ill thought through road designs.
Knowing this, allowing important roads to be closed. Especially for times when they don’t even need to be closed/are closed for utter garbage events.
Absolutely third world public transportation. Clean, professionally driven, scheduled, actual buses, with designated bus lanes, would get rid of so many issues.
There’s other issues that would help too. Car pooling, reducing import duty on motorcycles and scooters, better driver training etc, but they’re not critical compared to the rest.
No idea of the logistics, just the germ of an idea, what about a Tram from GT to Public Beach along SMB Road? Great for tourists and locals?
OK Wayne, If you take full responsibility than reimburse me for the flight we missed, the cruise we were unable to connect with and explain to my 3 children why they will never get to meet their Grandparents and enjoy their first Disney Cruise. Out of pocket now over $11,000 because you admit you caused an “intolerable disruption to your lives”. YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Brutal.
Not all of a suden Waynes fault. This has been an issue for a long time.
Since he took responsiblility find a good lawyer to sue him. Or perhaps get an appointment and ask him for a reimbursement. Remember he can afford it.
Fake news
@5:10am…FFS cry me a river and stop being so melodramatic..which cruise were you going on that would be leaving the same evening you were flying out of Cayman..Seriously, stop making crap up..Cruises don’t depart until later in the evenings so if you were joining a Disney cruise in Florida on Saturday you had more than enough time to get there on Saturday.
Hope you bought travel insurance
Stop closing roads for concerts, parties, etc.
The road closure caused the traffic jam.
More apologies for incompetence
Bicycling back from work while seeing all the p*shed off drivers stuck in traffic = PRICELESS
Not getting knocked off your bike = MIRACLE
That’s funny. I am a cyclist in my sixties and dodge death almost daily and three ambulance rides in 30 years. Traffic jams though are a cyclists dream except for the bozos that keep so far left you can’t get through. At least in a jam we are safer.
I’m also a regular cyclist. You can actually see drivers pull left when they see you coming alongside them like they want to stop you getting past. And all because they are too fat and lazy to get off their fat arse and get some exercise.
Not gonna lie, the cyclists are just as bad, if not worse, as the drivers.
Haven’t heard of a car being totalled by a cyclist yet. Yes, there are some irresponsible cyclists but the majority are not, but i do not think you can say the same for the poor driving standards. For instance, with my elevated sitting position I would say one in five cars that pass me are;
On the phone
Have child in the front seat
Have an unrestrained child in the back seat
Have no lane discipline
Fail to use indicators
Fail to stop at at stop sign
I agree. It’s a dangerous journey and always have to keep an eye out for horrific drivers in Cayman such as one’s that only look one way when turning onto the road from a parking lot. Many times have to slam on the breaks. Brutal
As a new resident to the island I have to say that the traffic here is shocking. I did not expect this. Something has gone terribly wrong here with transportation and infrastructure planning.
The irony of “as a new resident”. New people are the root of the problem. This island physically cannot handle this many people but everyone wants to come here and live the Cayman dream.
There is plenty of room but there are no roads from the east that bypass Hurleys roundabout mess. Also, how long does it take to pave a road? The one by the horse farm should be finished by now. But it’s just kicking the can down the road to Elgin and the even more worse al Thompson mess. there should be no turning lane from the other side into that little road.
Thanks Wayne for stepping up and taking responsibility. Now get your dam cabinet under control.
This was the fault of Kenneth, Bernie and the NRA. Total lack of planning and foresight. Won’t hold our breath for their appologies. Not in their DNA.
If you want to continue Pirates Week move it somewhere that works. NOT CENTRAL GT.
Pirates Week def not worth the hassle and does it REALLY generate enough return for the hassle? I doubt it.
We couldn’t find enough decent activities for one weekend of pirates so to fix it some bird brained person decided to drag it out to three months!
I attended less events, rather more, since Bernie extended the Pirates Fest to 3 months.
Still more than Bernie attended mind you.
What a very human and humble response! I love it. Thanks for being human, Mr Panton. Thank you.
If he was an ordinary citizen maybe but I expect better from the leader of the country! This should have never happened and he has done nothing to address the out of control traffic issues!
Human it maybe and appreciated
Long standing problem yes
Does he pick up his paycheck next week yes
Along with a couple of others I am suggesting the yellow grids on the roads at lights and maybe some areas of certain roundabouts with sufficient education on how it works, to drivers, and that cars are ticketed if they so much as pause, whilst driving through them. Too often people who could move if they were able are prevented from doing so by some twerp determined to get through, but whom ends up blocking the road.
And no more closing of the waterfront – at any time of the day – to accommodate minority groups. The days are long gone when this could work. Too many people and too many cars on the inadequate road system now.
Rather than you moving fast on this i suggest everyone sits down first and discuss how it got to this. I believe unrestricted japan cars trucks etc flooding the island un monitored is a big reason, money making people flooding the island.
There is basically 1 road from rum point to countryside. Developments mean all side roads lead to one main road whatever you do.
I leave for work at 5.45 am to get to town to start work at 8.
If there was a staggered flow into town it may assist a little.
Lets say
1. Early risers leave eastern districts at 6 am
2. Next batch leaves at 6.30 am
3. Next batch 7am
Its not brilliant i know but may help.
Friday was a disgrace total disgrace. Ive seen nothing like it in my life.
Whole of town gridlocked for hours god forbid anyone needed emergency services. How did it happen?
Poor planning.
Pirates festival on Friday evening and Black Friday? Well done Bernie. Brilliant.
Saturday would have been the obvious choice right?
Traffic is bad enough without this poor planning yet again.
Its to the point where you just cannot go to town on Saturdays now its mental
It needs a real sit down and not a quick fix Mr Panton .
Too many drivers have been imported.
Nice one Bernie
To close a main road to cause chaos for many for the enjoyment of a few so very stupid and unbalanced.
Can someone please explain to me what “take complete” responsibility really means. Should I go by his office to get fuel money and compensation for my time wasted?
If the commissioner was a Caymanian he would have been fired by now.
I don’t understand the number of cars issue. I can’t drive 3 cars at once… and making it more expensive to import cars is just a tax on the poor man. 1 car per expat household might work but they’re rich and see my first point.
If more cars on the island increases the propensity to drive then reduce the demand for miles driven, aka move businesses and schools towards Bodden town for example. Government should set the example.
Bermuda manages admirable with one car per household and others in household have either moped or bikes. get with this regime and also get rid of the cars that are unsafe – which I would expect to be every 4th vehicle. We have police available to do these checks – get on and do them please.
Have to give some kudos to the premier for stepping up and taking some responsibility for the utter mayhem. Not many would do that in this era of ‘egotistical leadership’
Would have been a good time for one of those tear-filled live videos crying for the people of the Cayman Islands from you know who…
Agree. It was not his doing, but he accepts that the responsibility rests upon him, and that is laudable.
virtue signalling
Who else could he blame? He signed off on it. I suppose its ok to make mistakes that cost people thousands of dollars in lost time if you simply say sorry.
Sure, other than throwing the RCIPS and Bernie’s ministry under the bus. Unless he means he’s responsible for installing the incompetent Government, in which case we’re in agreement…
He has to take responsibility, if he dare rough up one of his ministers they will throw another hissy fit and threaten to join PPM. He really had no choice.
You bet ya, I highly doubt either Kenny or DuhWayne would have done the same.
Kudos to our Premier for accepting responsibility. This Government is to blame for closing the road. The traffic jam is the result of decades of reckless ‘progress’, decades of failure to introduce and enforce a meaningful economic development plan. Decades of timid leaders with no vision for our future. Not all on you Mr. Premier.
No for sight
It was the right thing to do at the time, however, it will not be his last major mistake.
lol he had no choice, it is ultimtely his fault!
He will get his kudos around the 25th of the month!
pact-bot alert.
The road closures were even there for the morning rush hour and absolutely nothing was happening. Not even equipment set up. That caused delays too and was completely avoidable. (Don’t get me started on The cardinal avenue debacle, that took a year to lay some paving slabs or the sign near kirks advertising road closures even after they finish). How on earth did nobody in pact think this may be an issue? The lack of common sense is astounding. Blame the police commissioner though, sure his fault for a poorly managed event out of his control. Now we draft more police who could do with looking into the alarming armed robberies. Wayne only cares cos he was caught in it. Otherwise smug smirking pact with their general disdain for Cayman citizens would not care one iota.
To be accurate, the stage and other equipment was actually all set up on Seafarer’s way from Thursday night.
I was working down there. I saw it.
Yeah, they said the road would be closed at 10pm but they actually shut it at 7pm. Clown show.
You’re correct: the “lack of common sense is astounding”.
Not really a fan but I do appreciate the apology save for the fact it was the same number of cars as the previous night on half the number of roads. CIG haemorrhages money on stupid projects every week but consistently ignores safe, reliable, proper public transport not these stupid 3rd world vans.
Ok. So we are going to stop the importation of cars? Ok, so whats the alternative before you do that? Because public transportation is hilariously laughable, the infrastructure is deplorable and the police are useless. I would fix all 4. Stopping the importation of cars will cause hyper inflation of vehicle costs. Which is whatever, but anyone making less that $15 per hour will suffer greatly. Doing nothing for 20+ years isn’t working. Just please, try. Please! You need help Cayman, the incompetence is absolutely bleeding into everyone’s lives.
Importing less cars solves absolutely nothing whatsoever. There are more cars than drivers. There could be a million cars it doesn’t change the number of drivers. There is no public transportation that’s usable and the roads are ten years behind where they should be.
They widen something here and add a lane there and within 6 months there’s traffic again. Because the roads and the roundabouts are not capable of handling the volume of people that need to be on the road. Just bite the damn bullet and do overpasses where needed and do it now and plan for fifty years into the future instead of fifty days.
Bottom line is politicians only plan until the next election. Wayne will restrict imports of cars to expats so he and his buddies get a few more votes. They’ll get elected again but the traffic will be the same. Then they’ll blame it on something else which they’ll pass a law for roughly three years into the term. Just watch
Would never have happened if the airport
connector road had been finished instead of paving the whole of North Side.
Those who know, know.
And knowing is half the battle..
Just open our damn road Wayne
I hope they finally kill off pirates week or is it month? The whole thing is an anachronism from a time gone by that needs to be retired. No one is interested anymore. And thousands of people suffered this time for what? I don’t even know! End pirates week now!
“I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY” would mean more if CIG had sent a crew down at 5AM this morning to reopen the roads. 1:30PM AND THE ROAD IN GT IS STILL CLOSED!
What was the event anyway I thought the pirate thing was last weekend?
Ask Bernie it was his idea, then he fobbed off to the UK so Wayne had to take the heat
What was Bernie doing in the UK? Not sure what, if anything, he had to offer.
Attending “Cayman Day” apparently. Who knew?
A large part of the reason it was so bad last night was selfish and plain idiotic driving. I and everyone behind me sat for ten minutes with clear road ahead because some halfwit parked their car across the front of our lane. She would not move forward or backward no matter what. Anywhere else in the world they would have been dragged out their car or pushed off the road! Unbelievable.
The selfish and idiotic drivers are around all day everyday and the cops are nowhere to be seen. Other than the hyper focus on drink driving everything else is ignored.
Bingo
Spot on 1:23, it was remarkable. Absolutely an attitude discarding any kind of courtesy and adopting the ‘if I can’t go, nor can anybody else’. A real eye opener scaled up of where we are today, – If it was the Titanic nobody would have survived. 🚢
I agree – a large cause of the grid lock was due to people blocking intersections and roundabouts when they obviously could not make it through to the other side
Think about it, Pirates Week Committee, Ministry of Tourism, PACT but ultimately Wayne at his own admission have created and re-enacted the results of a large scale geographical event. The last time this happened was after the most recent heavy earthquake, I suppose kind of impressive really…
What they should now realise is that the narrow overcrowded streets of George Town, CANNOT accommodate a festival as well allow the increased population, to go about their business. Add tourists, and you have gridlock and anger.
stupid pirate week,they dont even no the meaning of this pirate ,they are evil and destruction we should never have that foolishness as a celebration.glad that mr panton got stuck in the traffic himself thats why he is sorry.no blame it on the cruise ships.more people more cars and bigger traffic but the worst left to come.
Guess we should register this Government’s policies as a hazard with HMCI alongside earthquakes and tsunami (warnings)
The police were clearly not around helping direct traffic through this mayhem. They could have used this opportunity to walk car to car to check insurance/ registration/ license (and ignored tint please) – this would have probably cleared 33% of cars off the road!
The police are clearly useless on this island. They are nothing but uneducated, unmotivated, and corrupt bunch of Jamaicans that wouldn’t know whats legal if it was written right infront of them, which it is. Half the police officers or more that I have spoken to can barely speak, let alone keep order. Cayman you should be better than this.
Actually the northern climate officers are more arrogant and ignorant. And sneaky.
The RCIPS is a complete shit show from start to finish.
Wow! It was horrible.! Yes, there are more cars but the number of cars didn’t increase all of a sudden. the problem was poor planning. It shouldn’t have been difficult to work out. Common sense suggests ” if a normally busy and necessary roadway is blocked then alternative diversions must be implemented. I am glad the Premier was caught up in it as well as we the common folks otherwise they would have been spouting there usual excuses.
Jon Jon was still at work though 🙂
Man that guy puts in long hours.
And the pirates say, sn-ARRRRRRRRRRRRR-l!
Well they’re going to have to say ARRRRRRR somewhere else next year.
Every.single.day.
This is on Bernie and Kenny.
That’s the benefit of one person one vote. It can screw the whole country over but if it benefits my constituents then who cares. Central folks were happy. Big party in their back yard and lots of food sales.
We are f#*cked.
@12:37 Dumb and Dumber or Cheech and Chong? Lol
I’m a glass half full kind of person and wouldn’t mind if it happened again. With the rising costs of fuel I think I saved a couple of gallons last night on the typical run home by being able to switch the engine off. ⛽️🚙👍
It doesn’t work like that. You used more.
What? Didn’t someone tell you, intermittently turning your vehicle off and on burn more petrol? Your glass is not half full it is empty !
You people are crazy, why do you think auto-makers spent millions developing ‘auto stop/start ? Did you know the average cars ‘idles 16 minutes a day (including warming up, waiting, and sitting in traffic). Even a 2.0 L compact car (never mind Wayne’s suburban) would burn (at a rate of 1 L per hour) almost 100 L of fuel a year’. Doing the math, 100L or 22imp gals x $6.00 = $132. If we’re lucky enough to get in traffic jams every day idling for an hour we’d actually be saving ourselves almost $500 a year !! Wayne doesn’t owe us anything we owe him !! Block those roads up Wayne!! – finally I’m starting to think like PACT !! 😉
I wish my car was only idling 16 minutes a day. Its more like 90 or more living in BT.
The days of closing roads in central George Town FOR ANY REASON are passed. The impacts on traffic disrupt far more people than those who might enjoy whatever festivities there are. New venues near main road arteries must be found to host such event.
Does this mean that no one knows squat about traffic or the cause of traffic problems on Grand? Perhaps we can discontinue Pirates Week and importation of automobiles for a few years and see if that makes any difference.
The police was probably instructed to what to do instead of being asked how to deal with the issue. Don’t forget the egos of the ministers in charge of this mess. I hope this is the last year of this “pirates week celebration” it has long passed it’s expiry date and needs to be dumped.
This government is clueless. I bet their solution will be to build that road through the central mangroves.
BTW I’m hearing backhoe clearing on the east west extension everyday. Thought the government had to wait on the $2m envoirnmemtal impact study before moving ahead? Who’s paying for this work and why before the study?
probably same tactics as all the developers whi rip out mangroves before applying for planning permission.
On the upside, if cars are stuck in traffic and not able to move, there can’t be any accidents caused by idiots driving way too fast with no regard for anyone else and no insurance on their 97 Honda Civic.
Cup half full.
The MONTH long Pirates week created last night chaos
Congrats Kenneth
But you probably didn’t witness this debacle as you swan around the Caribbean on the tax payers coin
Sort out your own country before looking after others
PACT have been the worse government in the last 40 years. No agenda and no PACT plan !
CARS DON’T CAUSE TRAFFIC, DRIVERS DO. To paraphrase the NRA (not the National Road Authority, the other one).
We have to stop closing Seafarers way to elite groups. Last month it was for the Halloween Party at Sandbar, we have closed that road so the museum can put up a bouncy castle, Margaritaville to have an event, Hard Rock to do a music fest… STOP!
Find a place to throw a party that does not cause the country and it’s economy to grind to a standstill.
In other news…. Uncontrolled roundabouts do not work in rush hour. We need to consider replacing the six or eight largest ones through town with syncronised traffic lights.
Planned roads need to be finished. The Camana Bay to Airport connection, the Eastern Avenue extension to Elgin Avenue connection, the Godfrey Nixon way extension to Seafarers Way.
The Premier takes responsibility, does he have the political will to say only one carnival, no special interest road closures during the week until 8:00 pm, to finish the planned roads, to provide parking downtown, to explore mass transit, to remove the personalities from power that provide the permits for the street closures, and take on traffic as a serious flaw in livability of this country.
People are the blame as they block every traffic light junction and roundabout. If they leave a gap traffic will flow better. It needs yellow grid box paint for no standing, stopping, or blocking.
For the sake of me I can’t understand why this hasn’t been addressed. It’s the only traffic light on island that has this issue and they can’t deal with it. There needs to be a no tolerance approach to this! If you’re caught in the grid you’re fined. If you can’t pay the fine you lose your license!
People do not stop at stop signs, and are never fined. Nice thought though.
There are no cops to police the yellow box and no one bar the Brits can traverse a round about correctly.
For clarity, I’m referring to the Smith Rd./Bobby Thompson junction.
Selfish, stupid, untrained and unlicenced drivers cause half our congestion. Nothing will ever change until we stop giving out driving licences to anyone who can write their name.
What could possibly go wrong with organising the closure of a main thoroughfare an an event in GT centre, on the same day as the start of Black Friday?!?
This is our Cayman now. It is not unusual to spend an hour in traffic to go five miles. Limiting the number of cars has been an option for years but nothing has happened.
Cars don’t drive themselves. We have always had too many cars, but now we also have too many people for the infrastructure. I don’t think more/new roads will help much.
It is going to cost hundreds of millions — and we’re not stellar at such huge projects (so far) — but I think the only thing that will make things work is either a rail system, or luxury bus lines that travel a regular route on schedule. I would use a bus line with comfortable seats and a/c.
Another unpopular opinion of mine involves car pool lanes. Of course, that would require enforcement of the rules.
first move would to be remove all of the dangerous and illegal vehicles on the road immediately . this would reduce traffic snd improve road safety .
Agree, however that’s a very soft serve.
“…not even going to ask for your understanding…” Wow!
He had the ability in his car to make a call.
For what? British SAS extraction?
The Joint Helicopter Support Squadron would be better than the SAS. They have the heavy lift helicopters
The Premier and his MLAs are a joke.
Get these clowns out of power please.
All 19 MPs need to be replaced.