Cabinet has selected but not revealed EWA route

(CNS): Based on a draft environmental impact assessment, Cabinet has approved one of at least three route options for the controversial East-West Arterial Road extension considered by the consultants who conducted the EIA. According to a summary of the 9 July Cabinet meeting, the Cayman Islands Government has selected a route from Newlands to Frank Sound, which will now be the subject of a final full EIA.

However, the chosen route option has not yet been revealed to the public and there are concerns it is not the cheaper, greener route recommended by experts.

CNS understands that the government has opted for the original route, though it will not include the northern branch of the road, which would have cut through the Mastic area. But route B2, which local environmental campaigners believe is a cheaper, shorter and safer route as well as being far more sustainable, appears to have been rejected.

At the last National Conservation Council meeting, Department of Environment (DoE) Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie explained that once the Cabinet had selected a route, the consultants would undertake a detailed review of that specific route, outlining the likely effects it would have on the environment. When that work is complete the the technical chapters of the EIA will be pulled together and the completed draft document will be the subject of public consultation.

Local environmental activist group Sustainable Cayman is urging the CIG to re-think its choice and pick the cheaper and safer route, known as B2, and to start making decisions based on expert scientific advice. They say that B2, which runs further south, will have less impact on the Central Mangrove Wetlands.

“History has shown us that the Cayman Islands are experiencing unprecedented high tides and saltwater intrusion in previously unaffected areas,” the non-profit group said. “With rising tides and increased rainfall from tropical storms, the risk of flooding across the islands is greater than ever.”

But despite their calls for the CIG to choose sustainability, it appears to have opted for the route that opens up more of the wetland for development. This is a move that many environmental activists say will be disastrous for the future of this critical habitat, believed to be the largest contiguous wetland habitat in the Caribbean. This route will dissect it, undermining its ability to deliver important eco-services such as carbon sequestering and drainage of surrounding land.

There is widespread belief that the proclaimed reason to build the road — that it will resolve traffic congestion for commuters living in the Eastern Districts — is a red herring and the real reason is to open up land for development.

Many environmental activists and members of the public believe that implementing a modern, safe, reliable public transport system, mandating school buses for private schools, encouraging flexible working hours and decentralising government offices would all have a greater impact on the flow of traffic between George Town and the Eastern Districts.

The CIG’s decision to pick a very expensive, longer, less safe and certainly more environmentally damaging route appears to add weight to public mistrust of the government’s motives.