NRA says it is tackling Grand Harbour congestion
(CNS): The impact of bringing commuters from North Side and East End to George Town more quickly, if the East-West Arterial extension to Frank Sound goes ahead, will not necessarily be part of the terms of reference for the environmental impact assessment. But National Roads Authority Director Edward Howard said the NRA is tackling the congestion at Grand Harbour and scientists conducting the EIA will be given the traffic data the NRA is collecting about this bottleneck.
Among the myriad concerns that members of the public, even those set to benefit the most, have about this proposed road is the possibility that it would make the traffic jams on the edge of George Town even worse because it would simply bring more cars more quickly to Grand Harbour, resulting in even greater tailbacks. Any improvement in travelling times for commuters that the road would provide would be negated once they get to the Hurleys Roundabout.
“We do have solutions for Grand Harbour,” Howard said at a well-attended public meeting in North Side on Tuesday. A corridor study has been completed and the results for that will be available to the public in the next couple of weeks, Howard said. This information will be handed to the engineering experts, Whitman, Requardt, & Associates (WRA), who are undertaking the EIA.
Scott Thompson-Graves, senior VP at WRA, said they would make sure they account for the potential impacts even though it appears it will not be included in the actual terms of reference for the EIA. “We are making sure that we don’t have negative traffic impacts due to the construction of the East-West Arterial downstream,” he said. “We wouldn’t want to inadvertently create a new bottleneck by opening this roadway up, so that is part of the evaluation.”
The engineers also confirmed that they will consider the calculations relating to the percentage of commuter traffic that goes beyond Woodland Drive at the end of the second section of the proposed extension. Those numbers are believed to be considerably smaller when compared to the number of drivers commuting between the capital and Lower Valley, Savannah, Newlands, Spotts and Prospect.
The last stretch of the road beyond Woodland Drive presents the biggest threat to the environment and would require the most engineering to mitigate potential flooding and the risks to the freshwater lenses.
While there was no clear consensus at the meeting for or against the extension into Frank Sound, it was very clear that there were concerns from residents in the districts furthest from the capital that the threat to the Central Mangrove Wetlands may not be worth the cut in commuting time. Many believe that could also be achieved by a number of other alternatives, such as reducing the number of cars on the road, improving public transport and addressing other road projects.
The NRA is currently working on a number of roads that it claims will address commute times and traffic congestion. Work around the Kings Roundabout and the Linford Person Highway already underway is expected to tackle the Grand Harbour congestion, which is likely to get even worse, given the amount of development underway in that area.
Howard told CNS that work on widening the existing first section of the East-West Arterial from Lantern Point to Hirst Road is expected to begin shortly. This will see a second lane added in each direction that might be reserved during commuter hours for buses, two-wheeled vehicles and other specific share vehicles, he said.
Members of the public at the meeting in North Side raised many concerns about the extension but Ezzard Miller and Arden McLean, former MPs for North Side and East End respectively, declared their emphatic support for the project and dismissed most of the environmental concerns.
McLean said the people of East End did not care about climate change because they wanted to feed their families now. However, that sentiment was dismissed by a number of attendees at the meeting who told CNS they care very much about climate change, the environment and the negative impacts the road might have.
Minister Jay Ebanks, the MP for North Side, and Dwayne Seymour, the MP for Bodden Town East, were both at the meeting, though there was no sign of Isaac Rankin, the current MP for East End.
Seymour asked a number of questions which, despite being in the PACT Government, he seemed uninformed about. When the CNS reporter approached him about the questions he had raised about taking a phased approach to the project and why he seemed unaware of government policy, he became angry and told her never to ask him questions like that again.
The public, however, also had many questions, and while there was evident support for improving their commute, over-development and the uncontrolled population growth across Cayman were seen by many as the underlying causes of the issues that the government was trying to tackle with new roads. Several asked why other solutions were not being considered rather than putting the critically important central wetlands at risk.
“The obvious reason for the road is for more development,” said Teddy Ebanks, an active member of the North Side community and deputy chair of the Public Lands Commission.
This remains a major concern for many who oppose the road. An independent report commissioned by Sustainable Cayman concluded that this is likely the main reason for the government’s push for moving ahead with the new road, especially the most costly and controversial third section. While this section will have much less impact on congestion, it will open up land in the centre of the island so that developers will be able to slice through the wetlands to higher and drier ground.
Tuesday’s meeting is the first of just two public sessions during the current public consultation period on the terms of reference for the EIA, which closes in less than two weeks. However, the engineering team said that there would be more public meetings and updates as the work on the year-long environmental impact assessment gets underway. They also said there would be public meetings to announce their findings.
The team stressed that the purpose of these meetings was to ensure that the scope of the EIA was as comprehensive as possible and that they covered everything that could cause concern for the community. The question as to whether or not the road should go ahead was one that should be made based on the final results of the EIA.
“We need to tell you the information you need to make this decision,” said Joyce Barkley, a senior environmental scientist with WRA and the project manager on the EIA.
The second public meeting will take place on Thursday evening in Savannah on Thursday, 9 February, at the CI Baptist Church Hall, 163 Pedro Castle Road.
Comments on the draft ToR can be submitted in writing to the Environmental Assessment Board
c/o the DoE via email DOE@gov.ky, post, or hand delivery to the
Department of Environment Office.Watch the North Side meeting here.
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Category: development, Local News
Can we also look at some quick win solutions that don’t require road changes:
1) I read that only 13% of public school students use the buses compared to 30% 10 years ago. People – if there is a bus, please send your kids on it rather than drive them
2) Have govt offer a 7:30 am work start time for staff.
3) Have govt offer the prime parking right at the Govt Administration Building for car pooling employees only. Doesn’t matter if your are chief officer of whatever, car poolers get the best spots.
4) Use the tour buses to do a one way trip from Bodden Town into Cricket Square and Camana Bay. Set time every day. $1 per person. Otherwise those buses run empty in to get the cruise shippers. Fill them up!
Zero private school children use school buses. Are the rich chiɔdren too good for school buses?
We also need buses for private schools. But the public school buases already exist and aren’t being used
Yes. Muhahahahaha!!!
As a parent of two kids in private school, I would be delighted to use a school bus and have championed for it repeatedly.
If there was a school bus option available, I’m pretty sure many parents would opt for it.
5) Implement remote work for all government workers who can do most or all of their work on a computer.
6) Private sector businesses than can do the above should do the same.
Tackling the problem for the last ten years? Come on give us a break. Ever heard the words performance or accountability?
“This will see a second lane added in each direction that might be reserved during commuter hours for buses, two-wheeled vehicles and other specific share vehicles, he said.”
This is great to read. Hopefully we can then quickly see the addition of some express buses to Camana Bay and Cricket Square areas. Add wifi to them and hopefully people will actually use them. Imagine if each bus carried 30-40 people. That’s a lot of cars off the road during rush time!
And by “tackling”, the NRA mean they are applying the CIG universal equivalency of quietly disregarding the problem until right before the next election.
Govt. should have some departments start and finish work at different times,like Immigration and Post Office workers can start at 9:30 until 6.pm.Private business can do the same.
Cars are banned on Princesses’s Islands.
Environmentally friendly vehicles of Prince Islands of Istanbul
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/photo-gallery/news/environmentally-friendly-vehicles-of-prince-islands-of-istanbul-2024521
I hope they plan to discuss this road going through our mangroves when he visits. Would love to hear his take on it.
Why hasn’t the 100 feet of road connecting Selkirk Drive to Grand Harbour been done yet?
This would only take a couple weeks to complete and would help alleviate at least some of the traffic.
What is wrong with this government ?
because it’s private land
No govt has acquired it. No excuses. Useless.
If you know, you know
well we have stop signs st esch end now.
Questions should be asked as to what was the business case or economic analysis done back in 2005 when the decision by Cabinet to gazette this road is first done. Also why some 18 years later are we now looking at an EIA and paying outside consultants a lot of money when we all know the road is going to be built whatever the report says!
NRA is a statutory authority in name only. The NRA Board is appointed by Cabinet, they report and are beholden to the ministry that provides their funds…so really still part of the privileged civil service!! So at the end of the day it is still Cabinet that will decide if the road is built. In the past and in the future they make the decision of roads being built without detailed plans or costs to build or the cost implication of paying compensation to the landowners affected. Its a mickey mouse outfit and all smoking mirrors and this EIA is only paying lip service to the general public.
Ok I’m no expert but here we go:
Currently the bypass that ends at Hirst rd is basically useless for the following reasons:
1) Going East in the evenings unless you live NORTH on Hirst road you have to take a right for which you have to wait and only brings you to the countryside roundabout for which you have to give way. Too many people in the roundabout with right of way stop to let these folks back onto the road and it jams everything up. Unless you live north of the bypass on Hirst it’s a waste.
2) Coming west in the morning you have to take a right off the main road to get to Hirst to take the bypass; then at the roundabout at which you SHOULD have right away everyone lets the Shamrock Rd. traffic go so this jams everything up.
Now let’s get to the big bottlenecks and remember that each time you fix one it just moves the bottleneck down the road a bit.
Hurley’s, Kings, and whatever is going by the horse stables:
They NEED overpasses and here’s the concept:
For everyone going Straight through – you have 2 lanes each side that pass over – straight.
Under that overpass you have a single lane roundabout that lets everyone on/off the main road to south sound rd, hurley’s or U-Turn etc.
This will help because some large percentage (say 75% or more) just wants to go straight. The smaller amount that needs to turn gets the smaller lane to do so.
Do that for Hurley’s Kings and Horse Farm.
You also need a plan for the roundabout on the bypass that comes out at Crewe rd. Too many people get jammed up by the Crewe Rd turn and it backs out onto the bypass and jams up that roundabout. Probably need to block it off from CREWE or add a dedicated lane to make that turn. Or that turn needs to overpass the roundabout.
At some point the 4 way light will become the choke point and I’m not sure what to do about that. Maybe overpass straight and the traffic from Crewe to Smith goes under?
ALT roundabout is tricky because lots of people use it for all 4 exits so that might need to stay as is but if you got everything in the list above that done it would make a world of change.
I’m no expert but I know enough about the NRA to know that they are using bandaids for missing limbs. They expand a road here and there and add a lane for a few hundred feet or change a roundabout a little bit and the work is soooo slow and the design is sooo behind the times that by the time it is complete it alleviates almost nothing.
They need to think about the traffic needs 10-15 years from now and build the roads today to suit that. Instead they have a plan from 20 years ago that they still haven’t implemented and most of it won’t do much. For example the fabled connection from Manse rd towards Pedro is going to do absolutely nothing except bring people from the East to a stop sign by countryside. It creates zero additional THROUGHPUT just another way to go. Same is true with the fabled connection from Selkirk through Hurley’s to Kings – absolutely stupid and does nothing at all except to take that one Neightborhood and re-route them to have right of way over anyone already on the road at Kings. Will cost a fortune, steal some land by compulsory purchases, and again create ZERO THROUGHPUT increases.
It’s a big problem to fix but the people working on fixing it are not (unfortunately) the right people to do so. Do they have a track record of fixing such issues here or anywhere else in the world? If not, they need to be replaced by people who have already fixed these problems either here or abroad. That should be a requirement of anyone in senior leadership with NRA. Otherwise you’re just continuing to foster an environment of incompetence.
I think the problem with an overpass at Hurleys is what do you do with the traffic while you are building the overpass. Might have to build a causeway out in south sound.
They build overpasses off site nowadays and drop it in with a crane in the middle of the night. Do it in the summer when schools are out and lots of people are away. Temporary diversion for a few days. Make sure someone intelligent who has done it before is in charge and it will go smoothly and quickly.
Best hire Chinese road and bridge builders, otherwise it will take years to complete.
The obvious solution is to remove the Grand Harbour roundabout in its and make those businesses and residential developments accessible by left off only, diverting the traffic to the two other major roundabouts in the area.
*in it’s entirety
Good idea. Maybe also an instructional billboard explaining where to locate the two way signal stalk connected to the steering column, for all those comfortably enjoying our roads that never bothered to earn a driver’s license anywhere. #bless
That would simply move the problem to the Kings roundabout!
Yes 2 separate roads through there.
Remove the parking lot in front of Grand Harbour (or at least half of it) and run a road through it as the highway and the other as south sound road.
Build a parking garage for grand Harbour to the east side by the liquor store for parking to make up for it.
Not sure why million needs to be wasted on assessments and years taken to solve the problem? A simple solution is always far better than a complex one with multiple roundabouts, rights of way etc
The entrance and exit for the new Aura development looks like a nightmare and plenty of accidents in the future.
This problem is unsolvable.
Why?
Because NO ONE wants to talk about real solutions. Those are Bridges and overpasses. Plenty room for all of this, no it wont destroy the mangroves, elevated roads and bridges exists all over the world. Not a new concept.
But we want to keep living in the dark ages.
I did mention overpasses at least 20 times in the last 10 years
Me too mate… for 17 years. That’s how long I’ve been getting stuck at Hurleys (from BT) except the traffic and commute time have easily tripled since then.
To hell with the stupid mangrove crap. Before you answer this, get a map of cayman. And look at it. 2/3rd of the ENTIRE island is mangroves and swamp and brackish water areas. reducing it to even 1/3rd will have miniscule long term effects.
And to even get it down to 1/3rd of the mangrove size, would take 100 years. With constant development and miles more road than the government ever plans on building
OPEN ACCESS TO LAND ……
SO WE CAN DEVELOP MORE No one thing to do with traffic
thank you Wreck it Ralph, – how much arsenic can there be in a gallon of drinking water to only have ‘miniscule long term effects’.
Yes you idiot who briefed you Ronald McDonald or Bozo the trouble with ignorance as it goes along it picks up confidence you are obviously over confident!
We are always tackling everything but at the same time making no meaningful progress to deal with the major issues.
I hope this EIA provides a detailed cost analysis and business case to justify the need of the road, the economic benefits what compensation is going to be paid to the landowners, the increase expected in land values and that CiG have the funds.
I hear that the road widening along Crewe road and by Hurleys is a disaster! NRA have really messed up … no detailed plans no budget, and no idea what they are going to pay as compensation to the affected landowners… no business case to justify it or the extension through Kings Gym. If I was a landowner there I would ask the courts to stop this nonsense until NRA know what they’re doing! What a cluster…! I can see this happening to the EWA.
World’s Class!
How about finish one of the 1/2 done projects first.
Jon Jon is such a “what Chrissie Tiegen said”
lol
NRA are completely incompetent! How long does it take to build a road once gazetted? They gazetted Crewe road and Shamrock Road three years ago and still not started parts of it. Even now they are sneaking the road though GT ironwood forest to Walkers Road – where is the EIA for that?
Thats world class excellence
NRA is not part of our world class civil service. They were world class when they were part of the civil service.
Shut down the NRA and return it to the civil service.
Private sector runs SAGC’s simply dont work.
you are deluded.
True. Well saaid
Hurley’s roundabout is an actual cluster.
We put plastic posts everywhere because we have so many idiots on the roads.
The positive about having these things keeping lanes apart is negated as most idiots from south sound who are heading east, don’t indicate, so the vehicles having just passed country and western bar are now sat like lemons waiting to go, but can’t as they’re waiting for an indicator that never comes.
We then allow for Harbour Walk and a myriad of development further down the same road; the extra vehicles leaving in the morning will have right of way against the commuters coming from the east, so then that will back up even quicker.
Oh my. We’re screwed.
World Class planning
Just today about 4:00 pm I stood at Hurleys and watched the peak hour rush home madness, could have been mistaken thinking I was in The Bronx or Brooklyn, New York.
How I miss the old 2 lane road in the area about Durty Reid’s and the tranquility of the short cut road behind Reid’s , to get you on your way home ‘after a few’.
Grand Cayman has become a traffic clogged urban landscape with shiny new vehicles at one end of the spectrum and diesel soot spewing dump trucks with wobbling front wheels and Jake Brakes at the other .don’t stop the Carnival.
Miss dutty reids too. Used to love stop off there on the way home! ❤
So tell us then Edward, what’s the hold up with the third lane heading east past Maedac?
This is an example how out of touch the NRA is. 4 lanes by Grand harbour going EAST and two lanes heading into Central GT. Being punctual for work in the morning is more important than leaving work on time for everyone except the NRA employees. To the NRA rocket scientist. No one gets fired for getting home late you bunch of donkesys. The four lanes should be heading into GT. Can we have a new NRA board and Director please Minister. This along with other road issues shows the NRA knows nothing and has no idea about Traffic flow. God help us all.
Here’s a solution.
A MONORAIL.
Built by Chinese
From East End to George Town, George Town to West Bay. Stops all along the way.
Fully air-conditioned.
Clean lavatories.
Free to all
Free WIFI
Penalty for all driving cars during rush hour, except emergency vehicles.
Compulsory use for politicians and government employees with no exceptions
Howzat?
I’ve sold monorails to brockway, ogdenville and north haverbrook and by gum it put them on the map!
The problem here is that with shops closing at 6 PM and on Sundays, I have to drive to work so that I can run errands after work. I don’t have kids, but those who do also have school pick ups, sports, etc to navigate. So the monorail is a start, but sports clubs and tutoring services will have to have shuttle busses and shops will need to have extended hours if I meant to take the monorail home and then drive back into town to get my dry cleaning, shoes, hardware or whatever.
The Chinese will want a clause in the development agreement that says “China’s military can use this monorail if and whenever it deems necessary”
I agree with you that a rail system could be a great idea, but a monorail is not the way to go.
Monorails have been proven in many cities to perform less well than more standard two rail electric train systems, while being impractical and unnecessarily expensive.
Maybe we need an elevated light metro, maybe trams, maybe just a much improved bus system will do the trick. I don’t know but I just wish the government would hurry up and get serious about transport. I also wish they would look to other countries that have excellent public transport even in their tiny towns (like the Netherlands or Japan) and take inspiration.
there is no-one in cig or civil service with expertise or qualifications to tackle the traffic crisis
if we can’t be honest and face these facts we will never be closer to a solution
or any other issue for this matter
You forget its World Class!
As if that will stop them
Spoiler alert: We wont be and we wont face them.
There’s no one in this comment section either, except me.
Zero private school children use school buses. Are the rich chiɔdren too good for school buses?
If you ask me (most wouldn’t) Dart has fundamentally screwed up with the Utopian Plan Grandeur. Caymana Bay’s been constructed with all the facilities over a vast acreage site but nobody can get there pretty much unless you live on Dart property. Dart continues to expand with new hotels, new schools, new buildings for the over affordable housing and the simple fact is the NRA, the Govt, CPA just can’t keep up. Besides that there’s no land to implement infrastructure to accommodate commuting to the vastness of the development. So what do we do, does the NRA continue to struggle with the unrealistic task of funnelling more and more people into one or two concentrated areas or should the Country as a whole concede and petition Jeff Bezos to orchestrate a more organic community out by Bodden Town & Breakers. My money is PACT folds for those pushing for the EWA and Dart is likely the biggest proponent for it with the rest of us likely exceeding the average of commuting 1 year during our lifetime. 💵🎯
If Bezos won’t do it, tapping the Argentinian Govt would be a dead cert 👍
I think that was a part of the plan, wasn’t it. It will be exclusive (we will be excluded) once it’s fully realised.
speaking of Caymana Bay whatever happened to the go east plan. I see now healath city is going to open a new cancer center at Caymana Bay
It was made quite clear at the meeting that traffic is impacting Bodden Town, Savannah and Newlands well before the GH roundabout. He who feels it knows it. Talk to any North Sound Estates resident or any Bodden Town East/West resident who has to endure snaked traffic coming down a tiny country Hirst Rd (need an arterial to the extension when its built) or the congestion on Shamrock Rd.
And the 4am wakeup is real. You all west of GH have no idea what we are dealing with. Yes, ensure that environmental concerns are addressed as much as possible, but the current road infrastructure cannot accommodate the eastern districts population as it is right now.
but the road won’t make it any better….and you will be back at square one in 2 years time.
you need to think outside the box
The road will certainly help the Newlands residents if there is an artery to the EWA Extension.
The extension needs to be built, along with a flyover at GH. What you west of GH people don’t realise there is also a pinch point in front the Savannah post office. An extension to the EWA will help keep people off Hirst Rd and flow unfettered, either along a full EWA or along Queen’s highway through Shamrock Rd and beyond.
That, and we need a flyover at GH. Joey Hew said it years ago and people balked. I see people are finally warming up to it because they realize that, unless there is more land acquisition, there is no where else to go but up.
The road is just an opening for more building which will lead to more traffic. Dart has been planning to build out East for years. Condos, hotels, apartments are all part of his grand plan. Building the road is just giving him et al the means to destroy the other side of the island with cement. The east will not be recognizable in 2 years after the road goes in.
Nobody disputing the horrible reality of failed planning for 20+ years and the people out East suffering with this poor decision making.
But understand what is being clarified by analysing the traffic you are sitting in.
1) There are 3,615 people living in North Side and East End. So if everyone had a car and was travelling to work you have 3,615 vehicles on the road. That’s fine.
2) There are 14,398 people living in Bodden Town that the people travelling from the East join in the daily commute. That used to be fine.
3) George Town now has 33,898 people residing in it and MORE homes in construction with a large % of that joining the traffic commute in Spotts, Savannah and Red Bay. This doesn’t account for tourism traffic.
So yes those who start their journey further out suffer the most but with the chokeholds and growth continuing Bodden Town, Savannah, Red Bay and so forth, we MUST fix Savannah and Grand Harbour roundabouts, reduce traffic west of Bodden Town by getting workers in buses around George Town districts. It’s a better approach and better for everyone…except for the politicians owning unlocked land.
Thank you – numbers don’t lie.
Of course traffic starts before the GH roundabout. But putting more lanes/cars into that roundabout will not make them go through it any faster. You could add a hundred EWA lanes and it still won’t make the cars go through faster. All the EWA is going to do is get the cars from North Side and East End into Bodden Town faster. Albeit a different part of Bodden Town. Everyone will still be backed up from the existing bottlenecks. Just now you can have your choice of road to be backed up on. Shamrock or EWA.
Myopia, greed, vanity and ecological illiteracy has driven Government and our rapid population growth.
We need leadership that will embrace views about Cayman’s population that are more in keeping with the needs of this generation, the needs of those who will come after us, and the needs of the many other species we have the good fortune to share these beautiful and fragile islands with.
Thoughts? 🤔
🟢Protect our environment
🟠Stop overdevelopment
🔴Stop duplicity
Despite tragic bike and pedestrian fatalities, absent road patrols, and unchecked speed racers, there still aren’t any crossings on ETH connecting eastern residential areas to west bay road, shops, and beach. How many more people need to die? What is the magic number that NRA are waiting for? #Frogger #RoadCrossy
There is, in fact, a public pedestrian underpass under the ETH. You should try it some time.
Very useful for accessing the dump or the art gallery, but nothing else, and only from one to the other, as it is located along a barren stretch oh highway with no residences anywhere near it.
We don’t want people crossing the ETH (unless there is an underpass). That will lead to more traffic when people have to stop or people getting hit when cars dont stop in time. People regularly do 45-50 mph on ETH – they shouldnt be trying to stop.
Then it’s time to reduce the speed limit from Kimpton right through to Camana Bay
Speed limits hahahaha
Not only was Ezzard rejected by the people of North Side as their representative, he was rejected by the people of North Side as their National Trust representative. Jeez, I wonder why?
Harden Arden not even worth wasting time on.
We can’t fix traffic and still have round-a-bouts. Not possible as there is no traffic control on them. Must change to “normal” intersections with smart lights.
people just sit blocking the whole intersection at traffic lights as there is no traffic control on them, as there is no enforcement.
Just like people illegally sit on roundabouts blocking the entrance.
Police are needed at rush hour at the main roundabouts, especially Grand Harbour and ALT roundabouts where nearly all the cars are headed on the ET highway, but are blocked by the small number of cars going from industrial to Elgin.
There will be NO TRAFFIC SOLUTIONS, until police enforce the existing laws.
Fine the people blocking the intersections and roundabouts, once that stops 90% of traffic going out of town in the evening. So all those cars that are stuck, then block more traffic.
PS- when you turn:
1) Check mirrors (plural!) and blind spot for cyclists, do not pass or pull along a cyclist and then turn through them!
2) turn on indicator/signal on BEFORE you start breaking;
3) When you are turning, don’t just stop with half your car sticking out on the road.
The Cayman Islands driving experience
1) Speed limits mean nothing
2) Toss trash out anywhere you like
3) Be sure to follow too closely at all times
4) Dont use indicators
5) Creep out in that road. Make someone stop to let yiu go, bobo
6) The luxury taxi drivers must be very aggressive at all times with their behemoth SUVs
7) Teslas exempt from front license plate laws
8) Motorbikes can pass on either side and are exempt from speed limits
9) Dump trucks, concrete trucks and all lorries required to speed at all times, use air brakes, pass cars in roundabouts and follow too closely
10) Block that car in. You are more important than them
11) Park in handicap spaces. No harm will come unless Marl Road snitches catch you
12) If your car has loud or no mufflers, be sure to race and rev that engine on all roads and especially Camana Bay. Show them all the hero you are.
13) Enjoy all the mimosas and prosecco you want for weekend brunches and feel free to drive
14) Voxy taxis are exempt from all traffic laws
15) Dont give those cyclists or pedestrians any room
16) Crank that bass up, as every home or condo you may pass loves it
17) Jeeps are exempt from all traffic and parking rules, especially when modified, driven by expats, or tourists, in no particular order.
18) Tint those windows as dark as you want, especially the front
Silly comment. Roundabouts are the best way to move traffic efficiently and quickly, caymanians just don’t know how to use them. Everyone here should have to pass a uk practical and theory driving test.
Seymour asked a number of questions which, despite being in the PACT Government, he seemed uninformed about.
When asked about a sinkhole that opened up after the last earthquake Jon Jon said he would look into it.
Of course Seymour isn’t aware of government policy. The man is inept and as thick as they come.
He is exactly the type of MLA Cayman needs to get rid of if it wishes to prosper and be governed properly.
And yet, 12:34, those of us in his constituency with a modicum of brainpower will have to put up with him forever because he is elected for life. Trust me, Bodden Town is full of people just like him, especially Jamaicans with the vote, and they will keep on voting for him because they think he is one of them.
This is really funny. What do you expect. If you elect monkeys you get a circus.
“he became angry and told her never to ask him questions like that again”. Consistent line of approach from Dwayne – we all remember “You would have to be brave enough to ask that kind of question, I don’t know who would be that stupid”. Did he follow up with a parable about donkeys this time as well?
best part of the article
You not see nuttin.
Why is no one talking about his genius idea of ‘the Seymour tunnel’ from Bodden Town to George Town, self funding with a 25c duty charge on each KFC meal sold, it’ll raise CI$25 million in the first year and take two years to build.
As it pertains to the singular issue of the choke or ‘pinch’ point which the Hurley’s, or more accurately, the Century 21 roundabout presents, there is really only one viable solution to the problem.
The problem is the interaction of traffic in this area which hinders the uninterrupted flow of traffic, whether the majority of traffic is coming from the East in the am or the majority of traffic is coming from the West in the pm hours.
Roundabouts have their place in some scenarios, however, at this junction it is not workable due to the excessive amount of traffic flow. Practically speaking, there is no other practical option and/or solution at this area specifically.
What is necessary at this particular point is a vehicular overpass or ‘flyover’ which performs the function of disallowing the flow of traffic from either direction to be held up by traffic coming from the opposite direction.
It is safe to say that if said vehicular overpass had been implemented long ago, as opposed to the myriad reconfiguring/reconstructing exercises of that one singular roundabout, then in comparison to the amount of what is the public’s monies and time already spent on that one roundabout over and again, that a functioning vehicular overpass could have not only been implemented but also have been paved with the finest of carrara marble.
Whatever the reasons, reasoning and/or factors which may have then or now stood in the way of the implementation of said vehicular overpass before, there is no valid and/or viable reason which should stand in the way of green lighting it’s implementation now.
The argument that the timeframe for construction of said overpass would hinder traffic too much is, all things considered, null and void.
The argument and/or notion that any adjacent property could and/or should be allowed to stand in the way of the construction of a vehicular overpass is also null and void, as this is now an issue which creates negative consequences that pale in comparison to any temporary hinderances which may be required to be tolerated during the construction of a vehicular overpass either by the public or adjacent landowners.
Whether it be the temporary rerouting of traffic through a parking lot during the construction phase, budgetary considerations that are necessary, this is what needs to be done.
Whilst this situation is indicative of not only a failure to plan, but also the result of a purposeful ignoring of foresight and an ignoring of prior efforts to plan in the first place, what is necessary now is to implement a vehicular overpass.
Regardless of one’s personal perspective as it pertains to the myriad issues and/or the question of future trajectory which Grand Cayman faces in it’s and our collective entirety, most if not all can agree that this one problematic choke or pinch point is an issue which needs to be addressed and rectified forthwith.
The solution is a vehicular overpass. Get it done.
Or blow the roundabout up and install lights with sensors and a camera system so the flow can be adjusted in real time.
Roundabouts are not good with peak flow.
On average they are faster, but that doesn’t help me in the morning coming in or on the way home…
Although traffic lights as part of a multi-directional intersection can be considered as viable option when weighed against the functionality of a roundabout, or even if a roundabout is augmented with traffic lights, the overriding fact is that the solution lays in a system of roadway which disallows the free flow of traffic E to W and/or W to E to be impeded, disrupted and/or interrupted at this specific choke point.
There are no other viable options in this specific area, as opposed to other areas where there is the possibility of spreading the traffic flow out in order to reduce congestion via various directions of travel.
What is necessary is a vehicular overpass which allows for traffic that needs to diverge and or merge with the main flow of traffic for entrance and/or exit on to and/or off of the main thoroughfare without impeding the main arterial flow of traffic in either direction.
A vehicular overpass is the only way to achieve this goal.
The goal and the solution is a system in this specific area which does not hinder the flow of traffic. Neither a roundabout nor a traffic light, nor any hybridized amalgamation of the two, is going to achieve said necessary solution.
Wrong. An underpass is the best solution.
Considering the fact that the road level in that area is barely above sea level in the best of times, and the historical evidence which shows that the Caribbean Sea completely inundated this whole are during Ivan, one can see how an underpass would be unwise in this location.
The NRA said they have a solution for the Grand Harbour roundabout and the ‘consultants’ are looking at this and will have something to feed back soon. Why not share the information now while we are all wanting answers?
I agree with your argument Johnathan however we’re way past the point of an overpass. At this point the only solution is flying cars but they are at least another 100 years away. By that time you’ll need a flying boat.
adding more race tracks to the ever growing unenforced traffic on this island is absolutely asinine.
Well Bodden Town East, there’s your representative. Dumb Dumb Seymour. He doesn’t even have a clue what his own government is doing.
Electing this clown 🤡 you deserve to be stuck in traffic.
Exiting Grand Harbour from it’s western exit immediately onto the roundabout is like a game of chicken! One has to play dodgeball to cross three lanes to get into your correct lane to turn right and go west.
They could start with correcting that first!!
Just take the left lane and go back to the other roundabout and loop around, much faster than waiting for a safe break to take a chance.
Easily the worst roundabout in Grand Cayman. One has to say a Hail Mary before attempting to traverse it.
John John’s commute would be by donkey on a full moon. No traffic congestion there!!!
Late at night after a hard day of work at “the office”.
Yeah – the donkey might manage to avoid running into CUC poles.
….”reducing the number of cars on the road”- this is a fantasy
…”improving public transport”- there is NO Public Transport in Cayman, what are they going to improve?
“and addressing other road projects”. – too vague to know what they are talking about
The NRA Plan from 2015, which appropriated budgeted money from the public purse for every year since that date, required that every layout since that date incorporate bicycle traffic integrations. Still waiting on return on that investment. We have 34,000 permits and majority can’t afford more than rice for dinner. They don’t drive Teslas, but do deserve consideration, as do wealthier Caymanians and citizens that consider the environment and/or their own health and don’t want to drive, or die not driving. It costs less than $10,000 per mile to put in painted and stencilled bike lanes with safety separation hardscaping of road-fixed “armadillos” and warning bollards. Even the Sharrow stencils are better than nothing. Many local biking groups and associations, shops, and a whole world of urban examples to draw solution ideas from too.
After all these years “They tackling it?” when will anyone be held accountable in Cayman?
Duhwayne The Brain Seymour uninformed? Shurely shome mishtake Mish Moneypenny?
Dwayne (“The Brain” 🧠) Seymour is a genius. Just anyone in Gun Square, BT. They will tell you.
True dat, 2:55. They all weeded up and think John John looks like them and likes that loud bass music from Jamdown so he must be ok.
Perhaps Messrs.Miller and McLean would care to disclose whether or not they have a vested interest in the extension of the East West arterial to Frank Sound.
NO Big $$$$ is involved so we need to keep our mouths shut to avoid any kind of lost to our wealth. Thank You for understanding. signed greedy Politicians
Check for yourselves at Lands and Survey Department. While you are it check to see how much Dart owns.
As usual, the Ministers standing to gain are already counting their money. They don’t understand the purpose of taking public soundings. These are not supposed to be press events against reasonable caution and better judgement. They tried that already with all the Verdant Isle sales pitch meetings. No takers.
C’mon, you didn’t expect John John to stay awake in those meetings did you?!
Let’s not forget that Mr. Seymour is the same gentleman who stated at a constituency meeting the following:
“Anything that I am involved in, I will make it worse. I…I…I mean work best. And I know, some will have a problem with that. I know.”
Freudian slip, perhaps? In any event, I think he has a good heart, but make silly and out-of-context and confused comments sometimes.
You have to admit, though, that he provides comedic relief like none other.