EWA will cost around CI$1B over next 50 years
(CNS): The construction and maintenance of the eight-mile East-West Arterial Road extension will cost the public purse around CI$1 billion over the next 50 years, according to the Draft Environmental Statement that has now been published for public consultation.
When construction begins in 2026, the National Roads Authority will spend CI$120 million on Section 2 of the road from Woodland Drive to Lookout Drive and the relevant connector roads. Another CI$114 million will be spent on Section 3, taking the road towards Frank Sound.
The proposed eight miles of new road will start at the end of Section 1 of the EWA from Hirst Road to Woodland Drive, which is currently under construction, and will then run from the Woodland Drive/Agricola Drive Connector east to a new intersection with Frank Sound Road. According to the statement, this road will cut journey times by less than ten minutes between North Side and George Town.
Although it is expected to cut traffic congestion during the morning and evening rush hour, there are very real concerns that the road will simply allow commuters from the Eastern Districts to get more quickly to the bottlenecks around the edge of George Town, where they will still encounter traffic jams.
With a growing population but no modern national transport system, no efforts to decentralise government offices or introduce school buses for private schools, the congestion is unlikely to improve significantly.
The draft report, based upon the environmental impact assessment undertaken in 2023, also points out that the government has opted for route B3 against the advice and recommendation of the environment advisory board, which had chosen B2 because it was the least impactful option. (See graphic here, from EIA Reports/East-West Arterial, Alternative routes for the EWA extension.)
Instead, over 150 acres of wetland habitat will be lost to the road. More than 80 acres of natural untouched habitat currently used by the Grand Cayman parrot will also be lost.
The proposed eight miles of new roadway that starts at the end of Section 1 of the EWA from Hirst Road to Woodland Drive, currently under construction, will then run from the Woodland Drive/Agricola Drive Connector east to a new intersection with Frank Sound Road.
All of this road construction will result in the direct loss of flora and fauna along the route, slicing through pristine habitat as the road pushes east, and allow invasive species to spread, which will have a negative impact on biodiversity.
The Draft Environmental Statement pointed out the negative effects of habitat fragmentation, which will happen to an estimated 571 acres of undeveloped land in the Central Mangrove Wetlands, as the road will act as a barrier to the movement of species from places where they feed to places where they breed.
Birds and reptiles will all be vulnerable to road deaths,, and the water flow between habitats will become disconnected. Important natural flow paths, like the flushing of Meagre Bay Pond into the wetlands and the fresh/salt water hydrologic gradients in the area, could be altered. The wildlife there will also be disrupted by noise and light pollution from the construction and eventually the traffic.
The Environmental Statement also notes the flood risk and the threat to water quality, including the water lenses that may be impacted by the construction of the road and its future use. But the EIA also discusses the fact that the development of the road will make currently inaccessible land a viable option for future development, which would threaten even more of Grand Cayman’s dwindling natural resources.
The document, which is available on the National Conservation Council website, is open for public consultation until Monday, 3 February.
Members of the public can submit comments, questions or concerns by e-mail to the Department of Environment at doe@gov.ky
or by post to P.O. Box 10202, Grand Cayman KY1-1002,
or hand delivered at the Environmental Centre, 580 North Sound Road, George Town.The public will also get a chance to ask questions at two public meetings next week.
At the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, North Side, 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday, 21 January
and at the Bodden Town Church of God Chapels Hurricane Shelter, Shamrock Road, across from Rankin’s Jerk Stand, 6pm to 9pm on Thursday, 23 January.See all relevant documents, including the full statement and non-technical summary, on the NCC website.
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Category: development, Local News
Why don’t we dig a canal through the central mangrove? Use the cruise ship tenders to go through north sound from GT bacadere. the canal could start by Heather Bodden new project. That would be one ferry stop for savannah, prospect. Second stop would go further east to Midland Acres. Ferry could stop there for Bodden town, Breakers, Frank sound. people could pickup busses or parked car to go home from that stop.
Cheaper to dig, and could include shopping and residential?
Dave Miller
You all wanted 100.000 people.
ok. we here bow.
and we breedin
Sweet road tho from Yacht Club to Babatano. A private driveway!
LOL WHAT?
So, what is it costing to maintain all the other roads? Did we ask that question?
We shouldn’t be surprised at this cost, which I have to really wonder about. After all, the parameters of the EIA were set to such a standard that requires the road to be constructed in such a way to mitigate, limit etc the damage to the environment. What? Where we expecting a road, that is to be built to so many specifications to cost nothing to maintain??? First, it was the EIA, now that we are on our way to clearing that hurdle we are going to moan and groan (and try to create another hurdle)???!
Why aren’t we calling for a halt of the continual explosion of the population?? Or is that too hard a hit economically for some??!! Can’t sell condos and luxury villas if the population growth is slowed??!!
Think like an Economist
https://caymannewsservice.com/2025/01/new-year-election-roll-grows-by-just-over-1-2/
Think Like an Economist and you’ll see the world more clearer, empowering you to make better decisions at work, at home, and in your community.
Dollars & Sense
https://www.dollarsandsense.org/
CNBC
https://www.cnbc.com/
US, UK & German Bond Rates
https://www.cnbc.com/bonds/
Maybe the lack of interest with young Caymanians not being interested in voting is because our leaders are not addressing, solving and finding fundamental problem solving solutions that affect them and many other Caymanians in both the younger and the older generation from economic food affordability & employment stimulation, to affordable living accomodations, to assurances of safety from crime
Perhaps, if our government was to reserve $5m to $10m of its wasted income to introduce a competetive Long Term Economic Planning Compitition for competitors to earn an income and utilize there academic skills like the popular US Televised Shark Tank to create a business with Entreprenuer Ideas for Future Local Visionaries to present there long term Infrustrure & Hospitality Development Ideas to a locally televised broadcasted audience on the governments CIG Online Youtube Channel and Radio Cayman
Maybe a lot of our younger generation who feel displaced and excluded from the direction and decision making might show more interest and feel a sense of belonging in being involved in shaping the future of these islands in the manner they precieve the future to be and the way they would like to live there lives
It might just put a stop to the empty Radio Talk Show bashing and put money in there pockets, food on the table and more importantly, a roof over there heads
Kenneth Bryan did an awesome job trying to intellectually stimulate the minds of Caymanians with his $50K Tourism Grant for Government to consider economic growth
https://caymanmarlroad.com/2024/09/03/50k-tourism-grant-available-to-new-entrepreneurs/
But the public is unaware of what those ideas presented were
Maybe the CIG Youtube Oline Channel and Radio Cayman could play a better role in intellectually and economicalyy stimulation if something like this is considered for Long Term competetive Economic Planning Compititions are created for competitors to earn an income and utilize there academic skills to start a business on a program like the popular US Televised Shark Tank where Entreprenuer display there Ideas on a monthly televised Show
It is going to be so important for each party and each candidate to state which route they support – B2 or B3 – B2 obviously being the preferred route for Cayman, its people and fauna. I’m assuming Caymanian Community Party is for B2. I’d love to know. Commitment to other priorities is also key – tram/ sea/ alternative transport, and working/ economic support in the eastern districts etc.
It is going to be so important for each party and each candidate to state which route they support – B2 or B3 – B2 obviously being the preferred route for Cayman, its people and fauna. It would also offer greater privacy and exclusivity to landowners in surrounding areas.
Does this figure include the price of the land/compensation to be paid to the landowners?
But….a good public transport system could be implemented and run for quarter that cost over the same time. If MORONS were NOT in CHARGE!!!
Improve public transportation!!!
If only MORONS are not repeatedly elected…
Really? You think the electorate is responsible for morons running this dump(ster) fire? But, but, but, that would means a HUGE part of the blame is – the electorate (US)! A chilling thought that we are to blame. Self responsibility is not a strong element here, easier on our conscious to blame others. Cognitive dissonance be damned.
People like DART et. al. donate to the politicians and have them in their back pockets.
So, is it the politician or the obscenely wealthy who is to blame?
Two sides to the same coin.
I take your point, but a corrupt politician has ONE vote. The remainder of the electorate bears responsibility for being bought, uninformed, willfully ignorant, simply don’t care, or welcomes corruption. Does money sway elections, sure – in every country that holds elections. But the fact remains that it is the electors in Cayman that bear responsibility for their situation.
The 1st stage is costing $15 million per mile!
The narrative and tone of this article appears to want to cast guilt on those who support or want the extension. Clearly the writer doesn’t live in the Eastern side and doesn’t know the woes of the ones who do live there.
Adding more roads in the Eastern side is not going to solve the congestion problem in this country. You’re simply improving capacity not reducing congestion. Ultimately as long as everything remains in GT, then congestion will remain.
This government does nothing that actually improve congestion like reliable public transportation, proper policing, proper licensing enforcement, spreading business and commercial districts outside of GT and into other districts and so on.
It’s a tale as old as time that adding more lanes will fix traffic issues. It has been proven countless times and yet this government continues exercising the fallacy that the U.S does with its road works.
Directing more traffic into a bottleneck will not relieve your woes. No guilt cast – just facts.
Letter from the Secretary to the Ambassador of Absurdistan
Subject: A Dire Threat to Absurdistani Logic: Practical Alternatives to the East-West Arterial
Your Excellency,
It is with unprecedented alarm that I write to you regarding an existential crisis brewing in Cayman—a development so dire that it threatens to unravel the very fabric of Absurdistani influence.
I speak, of course, of the East-West Arterial road project and the emergence of alternatives that, shockingly, make economic sense.
The Audacity of Logic
Imagine this, Your Excellency: Instead of a billion-dollar road stretching across the island, Cayman embraces a ferry system modeled after Hong Kong’s or a public transport network that works seamlessly.
For a fraction of the cost, commuters would glide serenely over turquoise waters or travel comfortably in modern hovercrafts or highly seaworthy vessels,far removed from the demolition-derby chaos of the island’s roads.
And here’s the crux of the problem: these alternatives, should they gain traction, would expose the billion-dollar East-West Arterial for what it truly is—a monument to inefficiency, misallocation, and misguided ambition.
Worse still, they might actually solve problems. Can you imagine such a thing?
Economic Logic: A Threat to Chaos
At CI$1 billion, the East-West Arterial is a testament to Absurdistan’s core philosophy: spend big, plan poorly, and deliver chaos.
Alternatives like ferries and public transport represent a seismic shift, offering cost-effective, environmentally friendly solutions that would reduce traffic congestion and vehicular emissions while improving safety.
Such proposals are not merely logical—they are nothing short of heretical!
They threaten to upend decades of carefully cultivated inefficiency.
What would become of the cherished potholes, the gridlock, and the nightly demolition derbies that define Cayman’s vehicular culture?
Environmental and Societal Impacts: The Silent Saboteurs
Beyond their cost-effectiveness, these alternatives carry the insidious potential for environmental and societal improvement.
Fewer cars on the road would mean lower emissions, quieter streets, and a healthier ecosystem.
A functional public transport system could reduce the stress of daily commutes, fostering a sense of community and, dare I say it, efficiency.
Such progress would strip Cayman of its identity as a bastion of absurdity. Where would chaos find its home if the island embraced solutions that actually worked?
A Call to Absurdistani Action
Your Excellency, we must act swiftly. The East-West Arterial is not just a road; it is a symbol of Absurdistani dominance.
If it is overshadowed by cost-effective, practical solutions, the very essence of our philosophy could crumble.
I propose the immediate deployment of Absurdistan’s finest minds to counter this threat.
Perhaps a committee to explore the environmental impact of ferry wake on iguana migration?
Or a public consultation on the cultural implications of buses versus SUVs? Let no tactic be too absurd in defense of our legacy!
Final Words
Your Excellency, I suspect that behind the amount of sense and logic deployed here lies the hand of the infamous Adeptus Ridiculous of Cayman.
This enigmatic figure, rumored to have arrived amidst a Warp storm of chaos and logic, threatens to unravel decades of Absurdistani dominance.
Armed with logic sharper than a scalpel’s blade and a disdain for inefficiency, the Adeptus Ridiculous is said to cut through Absurdistani doctrine like a laser through paper.
If his influence spreads unchecked, we may soon witness a Cayman Islands governed by reason, efficiency, and—dare I say—progress.
We must act swiftly to counter this menace before the balance of absurdity is lost forever!
Yours in panicked absurdity,
The Secretary to the Ambassador of Absurdistan
Quick question: has anyone ever actually finished reading one of these novellas you post? To Cayman News Service: these seem better suited for a spam folder than a comment section.
I read it, but I like pulp fiction also.
Are the proposed Amendments to gut the National Conservation Act an effort to give the current Cabinet members the authority to approve the Dart-proposed roads that cut through the Central Mangrove Wetlands from the East West Arterial to Dart-owned Driftwood by Rum Point?
Is this Minister Jay plan so that his NRA can build the roads for Dart through the Central Mangrove Wetlands without the need to consult with the National Conservation Council?
We need to find out more about these Dart-proposed roads being built by Govt
Calm the hysteria a bit. Applying a payment stream over a 50(seriously, 50!!) is going to provide an alarmingly high nominal number. Lets just put this in perspective:
If you are paying $3,000 per month in rent ($36,000 per year), and assume an annual increase of 5% per year in rent, over a 50-year period you would pay a total of over $7,500,000 in rent.
So the 50-year amount is a pure distraction meant to obfuscate the issue.
“$20 million per year for half a century” doesn’t really sound much better for a road. Hard disagree on there being any misdirection/obfuscation required to make this look bad.
Easy solution – make it a toll road.
Easier solution. Make it a monorail.
CIG can’t manage trash (and most other projects) a monorail would be a disaster.
yep…worked great for Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook.
Yes! Single passenger vehicles will evolve into 2-3 passenger vehicles. Better yet, at 20 million/year, an efficient bus system has multiple advantages.
Well, that would ‘improve congestion’ on the other road, that’s for sure. Improve as in Increase, that is.
Thanks, we can add. The point is that this enormous cost will only grow and with funds generated mostly from US. For what benefit? Anyone who believes the goal is to ease traffic hasn’t looked closely. The goal is to provide access to previously protected lands and wetlands for the purpose of massive overgrowth development and construction. All without ever considering the absolute necessity of reliable, safe, comfortable public transportation, OR proper mitigation of the dump.
Seriously, where did you pull that $1 billion figure out of thin air? How did you even try to justify such an absurd number? This proposed bypass isn’t anything special compared to others that haven’t cost a fortune. Let’s stop with the bogus nonsense and have a real conversation about real issues plaguing this island.
$1 billion is a distraction number. Estimating the initial build and upkeep/maintenance/repaving etc. over a 50 year period. It is like putting the “cost” of a new house at the initial cost of the house, plus the annual upkeep, maintenance, a few renovations in future years, taxes, electricity charges etc over the next 50 years….and calling that the cost.
The relevant amount is the cost of the initial build.
How ironic that the vary people who are advocating against the bypass live in homes where some of best mangroves were destroyed.
yes… cayman is now 100% full of hypocritical nimbys….but this road is a terrible idea
I have repeatedly state that this road is going to flood peoples homes in the area. Please ensure the government is held accountable for their actions when this happens! The people must have a say to protect self and property for such irresponsible, greedy decisions!!!
Yes, the government should always heed what an anonymous poster with unknown scientific knowledge says.
“…unknown scientific knowledge.” Sounds like you mean CIG.
So let me see if I can make sense of this madness. A couple of years back I was threatened if I do not get my local parrot registered I would be in breach of the new parrot law and could face a hefty fine and possibly prison. On the flip side our same government, is going to destroy 80 acres of prime parrot habitat and they will not even get a slap on the wrist? Please, Please make it make sense? Would it have been better for the parrots to be caged and take care off than this alternative? Utterly Madness!!!
The Chinese Road and Belt initiative built a fantastic road in Jamaica quickly and its a world class roadway.
Bet they wouldn’t charge a billion and you can be sure it will be built correctly and finished on time or ahead of schedule.
That won’t happen, of course. Island Paving will get the contract and spend years unlocking lands for development.
Yes, they built a lovely toll road that no one can afford to use. Great example, you should be in charge.
I would rather be owned by Island Paving, than by the Chinese.
Once again… Braess’s paradox is a mathematical paradox that describes how adding roads to a congested network can actually increase travel times for all users. This counterintuitive result can occur when drivers are selfish and redistribute their travel patterns
Closing a road can reduce traffic. And there’s a mathematical explanation for why
“It really is a paradox, because it seems completely contradictory,” says mathematics professor Helge Holden.
https://www.sciencenorway.no/cars-and-traffic-information-technology-mathematics/closing-a-road-can-reduce-traffic-and-theres-a-mathematical-explanation-for-why/2176126
yep…cig…the people who say more roads is not the answer but all they do is build more roads.
welcome to wonderland.
don’t people realise nra must be kept busy hence nonsensical road projects will always be proposed.
$125m A MILE????
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Some one gettin’ RICH!!!
more caesars taxes…here we come! just wondering..what we caymanians getting out of all this development?
A few million will go missing too.
Traffic is a flow problem. More cars using a junction per time than the junction can handle will cause a backup. This solutions seems to be adding more, and very costly pipes to the same backed up taps.
Completely agree, as any sensible person would. To get to the chokepoint faster, does NOTHING for the overall flow of traffic. In fact, it becomes a detriment.
Sort of how some facets of government want a cruise port to service mega cruise ships. As it is, to have to cruise passenger traffic tendered, it brings them ashore in a measured quantity. To dump thousands upon our shores at once would be a disaster, but of course, nobody in government looks at those figures, only the massive head count to go into the coffers.
What a BS projection
my condo will cost 1B in 50 years-time
Its scaremongering
correct…but road is still a poor idea
free money making solutions:
Sell goab and build new goab east of frank sound.
or
bring in car-pool lanes and congestion charge for single occupancy vehicles that come through hurleys roundabout morning or evening peak times.
Elevate the road, hire world class builders from other countries, place financial penalties for not meeting milestones and completion and build a flyover at Grand Harbour.
In the meantime, establish first world bus services and require all students to ride a school bus.
Agree on elevating the road as in 50 years time the sea will reclaim the land over most of its route.
That made me laugh. If no dry land under your elevated road = no one will live here except on top of the dump.
wrong, wrong, wrong!
a flyover at hurleys will only push the congestion onto the next crunch point.
time to think outside the box.
we can’t have a situation where half the island are all trying to access a tiny peninsula every day
1 billion over the next 50 years? Is that how long they plan to take to finish the road?
If Robson construction does it, yes.
So between the EWA and Mount Trashmore we are essentially broke.
Wait until you find out about the pension and healthcare liabilities.
It’s been mentioned multiple times on this website and other avenues, reclaim land in the North Sound Basin, its the only way that makes sense. Forget about extending highways; leave the lands alone; go reclaim and create roadnetworks, more mixed use land for affordable residential, connect road properly to the north side of the Dump, etc.
Spending $1BN on this tiny extension to save 10 minutes to roll into the bottlenecks anyhow is a travesty.
12:47….are you listening to yourself? Reclaim the North Sound??? What part of your thinking would suggest that that is cheaper, less time consuming and less environmentally damaging?
According to estimates (in the documents accompanying this report) of driving times with and without this road, savings in driving time from, for example, North Side and Bodden Town to, for example, the GT Hospital are absolutely pathetic and certainly not worth the money being estimated as the cost.
A BILLION BUCKS??!?
Who have they got lined up to build this road – JuJu?
Assuming 30,000 Caymanians, that’s $33,333 per head.
Hundreds of pages and not a single mention of how funneling MORE traffic into the pre-existing bottlenecks as you enter GT will be managed.
But muh land locked property I must profit on!!!!!
The public can ask questions at the meeting but unless there is a change of government April 30th the questions will be in vain.
The average person does not understand the magnitude of this undertaking and it will come at a cost not only to animals, flora and fauna but humans as well.
This government will not consider alternatives cause they get their re-election war chests from the developers.
I ask the philanthropists and tree huggers to listen carefully to the candidates in waiting.
The current administration does not speak for all of us. It is our responsibility to educate the people on a better solution.
Where will the money come from to carry out this project??? Be prepared for an increase in the cost of living that is already breaking the middle class.
Inflation is strangling the country now with no sign of easing up as this government continues its reckless spending. Worse now with the campaign ahead.
We have heard stories of roofs being repaired, paved private roadways, job placement in government and more on the government dime. Spending the people’s money to get re-elected instead of creating economic advancement and sustainability for the people.
They are catering to the elite and we are so easily bought and not thinking about the next generation who will suffer.
And that road will lead straight to the Hurleys round about….
As the old saying goes. Can’t fix stupid.
How many acres is there estimated to be forced into use for solar panels farm’s in the next 50 years?
So what….? our civil servants and government cost us more than that EVERY year..!
The new road will at least bring Some benefit way beyond 1/50th of its annual cost.
in the absence of an overall island wide development plan…this road is a terrible idea that will exacerbate all the problems facing people living outside wb/gt peninsula
What are we even doing! $1B? Really!? For 8 miles of road? to cut a few minutes off a small portion of the population’s commute? This can’t possibly be serious. Imagine what $1B invested in a safe, reliable, 24/7, nationwide electric bus system would do for this country, and you wouldn’t have to build anything but a central depot with charging ports and revamp the bus shelters. A quick google and back of the napkin cost per mile of the US interstate highway system shows 8 miles of road over the same 50 year period would cost $108m, or in other words, Cayman costs are 11.3 times greater. Grift much!? Vote. Them. All. Out!
Look at the owners of the land adjacent to the trajectory of the road and you can see some familiar names. These are the people who are pushing for this road, their land will be up twenty times in value if not more. 100 acres are suddenly worth 50m instead 2,5m. This road will solve zero issues for traffic and is done from the public purse but will benefit the private landowners of currently inaccessible mangrove land. I saw a photo of a new government with environmentalists standing next to people who own large pieces of such land. That will be interesting to see what their position will be on this not needed road.
The Cayman Islands: where we spend $1 billion to shave off ten minutes from a commute, while simultaneously bulldozing parrots, mangroves, and any shred of environmental foresight.
@10am, I think it’s important to take a balanced look at this issue. Is it about “shaving off ten minutes” only?! What about the need for a proper road?! By that I mean, isn’t mitigation AND resiliency something to consider here as well??!! Or do the people who live on that side of the island not deserving of such?
I was here when Ivan came… I remember what it did to the road they have on that side. What happens when the next hurricane comes?! After all, we know that storms are getting more devastating.
I also remember when WB road was covered in mangroves. I also continue to read the CPA agenda, in which mangroves (what remains in WB peninsula) continues to be flattened; and with no objection from anyone…. why???!
Perhaps a good question to be asked, by the media, concerns what is the costs for maintaining the other main roads. After all, I can’t imagine that there is no cost AND it is somehow way less than what this one will costs. We all will agree that it cost money to maintain any and everything.
What about the constitutional right of the Caymanians who live in the eastern districts that are severely impacted by the lack of proper infrastructure in that side? Surely, that has some value??? Or does it not? Yes, the environment HAS to be protected (and it is a constitutional requirement) but it does not state that we cannot and must not ever have an impact on it. The reality is, as long as Cayman’s population continues to explode at this inorganic rate, infrastructure needs will be a reality.
Initially, the demand for an EIA was clear.. now, that is being done and it will offer the best way to inflict the least impact on the environment. That’s what it’s for. Now, we are going to try and use costs to justify not building it? C’mon, that’s a cheap shot.
It was only a few days ago, I was in Miami at Dolphin Mall when I ran in to an opponent to this road. Shopping at Dolphin mall, a structure that leveled a huge part of the Everglades. Isn’t that funny?, how we can selectively be concerned about something and totally ignore something similar?? It’s kinda like plugging in your electric car to a socket, to be charged by electricity that comes from fossil fuel generators. You didn’t “cut emissions” you just transferred the emissions thereof.
Fair is fair, but a hypothetical approach stinks to high heaven.
What a load of verbiage.
“You didn’t cut emissions”
Yes, I did, because using the same amount of fuel, my electric car will travel 4x the distance as your fossil fuel car despite being charged by a diesel generator due to the simple, non-refutable fact that electric motors transfer energy into movement more efficiently due to no loss to heat and sound via combustion.
8:08am, yeah, you keep telling yourself that.
8:08am, what about the destruction of the rain forest in the DRC, where most of the cobalt comes from?! And the health hazard to the local population of that area that is dying from cancer related causes DIRECTLY due the exposure from the earth elements (and the poor processing of this elements there??!! What about the deplorable practices being carried out by Chinese companies, who operate the overwhelming majority of the earth elements extraction companies in the DRC??!!
What about the reports from the UN and other EU watchdog groups that show that the entire automotive industry is complicit in the environmental degradation going on there for “greener vehicles”?!!
Did you consider that before you came up with such a poor response, totally void of facts??!
Just another washing down of the facts…. Plugging into CUC to get power, to charge a battery that started off with an already high contribution to the destruction of the environment.
But you keep showing up to your cocktail parties in that ev, with your head held high like you’re “making a difference”. Those of us who look beyond our bubble will continue to see it for what it is.
There are typically no objections to the planning applications because only homeowners within a small distance of the development are allowed to comment and then, they only find out about the period for objections after it has passed. If there are notifications at all. Not because people don’t care but because the ability of people to participate has been diminished over and over again by McKeeva and co.
All the EIA was ever going to do was put the information out there for people to decide on, i.e., government to make an informed decision.
If the cost looks fair to you – your decision – then aren’t you glad to have the study so you can now say that with full information?
And if what you’re worried about is that the EIA inform how the road “offer the best way to inflict the least impact on the environment” (OP) then there is that “the environmental impact assessment … points out that the government has opted for route B3 against the advice and recommendation of the environment advisory board, which had chosen B2 because it was the least impactful option” (article). – Again, what you do with that information is up to you. But now we all have it. Without the EIA we would not.
CNS, why you’re not covering fires in California? Such a scenario is not just probable, it’s quite possible in Cayman.
What Cayman could learn from the tiny Bermuda?
🌀HURRICANE buildings resilience. Bermuda houses are considered highly hurricane resilient primarily because they are constructed with thick stone walls and roofs made of limestone, a building style developed after a devastating hurricane in 1712 which destroyed many wooden structures, forcing residents to build with more durable materials that can withstand strong winds; this design has been consistently maintained through strict building codes over the centuries.
🔥WATER CONSERVATION and FIRE PREPAREDNESs. Roofs in Bermuda are designed to collect water. The roofs are made of limestone and have a stepped pattern that slows down heavy rain and directs it into gutters. The water then flows into tanks under the house.
🚍⛴️ TRANSPORTATION. Bermuda has excellent public transportation system that includes full size buses and ferries.
🛑There is no need for the EWA!
⛔️Say NO, Nein, Não, Нет to EWA!
it’s not probable at all in Cayman. Firstly all the homes in LA are built out of wood whereas almost none of the homes here are.
Secondly, why are you touting the construction in Bermuda as more hurricane resilient than here? What do you think we build with in Cayman? Twigs and straw?
I’d not want to be in Cayman when The Dump explodes. Cayman is 100% not ready for a major fire.
Next time they say evacuate, ask them where and how. Well, ask now.
Based on the voting Cayman residents don’t care.
I don’t believe Planning approves cisterns anymore. But you can get a pool or one of those ugly tanks attached to your house.
1 billion and why do we need this foolishness but to benefit certain political scumbags
Waste of resources. Funds could be better spent in so many ways.
Also, if we believe the hype self-driving vehicles make this a non-issue before too long.
But in the interim we could launch Kenny’s World Class Buses, tear out a few roundabouts and put in traffic lights with active monitoring and responsive timing to speed up peak flow. Move several hundred gov’t jobs to Eastern Districts and maybe stagger the start times for public and private schools.
Probably a few other easier fixes than a monster road.
you intentions are good…but the fact that you don’t understand roundabouts speaks volumes
How many of them have created accidents? How many people were killed by these same roundabouts?
Your opinion about the “Fact” of my understanding is incorrect.
We run multiple science experiments twice a day five days a week at various roundabouts on Grand Cayman. The result of these experiments show that our roundabouts do not handle peak traffic flow very well. This is also borne out by traffic research you can read.
For traffic flow, roundabouts are superior to lights right up until the point the aren’t. Problems generally occur where people don’t use them properly, but more importantly in situations where traffic is unbalanced. When you combine the two you get Grand Cayman.
But if roundabouts are a magical solution, we should just build more and ever bigger ones. But, have you ever wondered why there are lights on many of them in the Mother-Country? Or why traffic on a major motorway with roundabouts can grind to a standstill because traffic patterns become unbalanced due to school-runs and other peak events.
You built the existing roundabouts too small, idiot. It’s not rocket science.
Let’s forget this road and concentrate on an alternative to the Hurley bottleneck & put the savings towards moving the dump.
Need to fix the Bobby Thompson bottleneck first. Traffic lights must be replaced with a roundabout tomorrow if not sooner.
A road that no voter needs or has asked for…just developers.
Nice sound bite but not in the least bit true. It’s the voters making all the noise. That said, the road won’t help them one bit.
FFS 🤦🏽♀️megalomania is a serious illness in this country.
Imagine if the previous Ministers for Roads, Julianna, Joey and Jay and their NRA did not waste time from 2009 fighting against doing an EIA, and actually completed the 9-month EIA, us in the eastern districts would be much better off today.
But for the first 3 years he got in office even Jay fought against doing an EIA (that would take 9 months) and now we see why – his ministry could not afford it or did not want to pay for it to help his own ppl in NS, EE and BT.
It was the cost of building the road, and the fact that they did not have the money to build the road, that Jay and the previous ministers were trying to keep hidden, as it is much easier for the politicians to blame it on the EIA – BUT DO NOTHING – and make people believe the EIA (which would have only taken about 9 months to complete) was the reason for the road not getting built for the last 15+ years.
So now that the EIA is almost complete, the questions are:
When will the road be built?
Where is the money budgeted to build the road?
Will the road be built same time as Julianna’s Brac High School that will cost this country $90million?
1 Billion over the next 50 years? That will probably be my CUC and Grocery bills over the next 50 years too, but I dont see anybody complaining about them
8:38, exactly. This is all a farce. Anything to try and stop the road. Not until they own the land, will the road be “needed”.
Good. Let’s get started on building it!