New lights installed as capital revamp drags on
(CNS): Officials said on Friday that the long-running George Town Revitalisation Initiative (GTRI), which has so far turned out to be largely a repaving exercise, was “moving ahead with remarkable momentum”, demonstrating the clear difference in the perception of the project between public opinion and ministry officials. Despite the agonising and extended inconvenience to businesses and road users in the capital over the last five years, the ministry appears to be oblivious to the problems it has caused.
In a press release from the planning and infrastructure ministry, which is overseeing the project, officials claimed the second phase of the “exciting improvements” was almost complete after the installation of new street lights, underground improvements and mature tree planting was carried out.
“The new street lighting will significantly improve the overall ambience of George Town, making it a more vibrant hub after dark and a welcoming place for both residents and visitors. Through key milestones, the GTRI focuses on creating an environment that fosters growth, encourages community engagement, and enhances the overall experience for the George Town area,” officials stated.
They said that with the end of construction now in sight, the public could “look forward to seeing improvements that will have a lasting, positive impact”, which they claimed would include smoother traffic flows and safer pedestrian corridors alongside modernised facilities and improved public spaces.
The ministry said that as the initiative progresses, one of the most anticipated upgrades is the transformation of the intersection at the Central Post Office, where Edward Street, Cardinal Avenue, and Main Street connect. The ministry said key stakeholders, CUC and Robson Construction, the company that secured the contract for the job, are working to complete all underground infrastructure and street enhancements.
“We are also seeing building improvements and various renovation projects take flight throughout the area, inspired by the visions of the Central Business District Enhancement Project (CBDEP),” officials claimed, despite the constant complaints and the negative impact it has had on local businesses, some of which have closed as a result of the project.
But even in the face of the significant inconvenience, the traffic issues and the shuttering of businesses, the ministry thanked its “partners for their cooperation” and thanked the public for their understanding during the phased implementation of the project.
For more information on the project, visit georgetownrevitalisation.com.
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Category: Local News
And all the beautiful paving is now getting messed up by oil leaks from vehicles parking there!!!
Illegally so according to the large signs but no enforcement.
This was the brainchild of a disfunctional government and a disaster. They called it beautification. Yet when Chris Johnson wanted to do that at the Red Spot Bay the government instructed the CPA to refuse his application. That is so wrong. Let us not forget he was doing it at his cost.
Let us hope Andre can fix this problem and let Chris realize his vision.
Some folks got rich on the back of that!
There needs to be a complete Audit/INVESTIGATION OF ALL PARTIES AND RECORDS INVOLVED IN THE REVITALIZATION PROJECT, from its beginning to end9 if if it ever will). THERE IS TOO MANY RED FLAGS, NOT TO DO SO COULD BE CONSIDERED CRIMINAL TO SAY THE LEAST.
SORRY FOLKS KEYBOARD GONE AWRY, BUT IT NEEDED TO BE SAID CAPS AND ALL.
NRA signed off on that clustefark junction? It’s 10 x more dangerous than it was previously.
There is a very long list of things to criticize about the GT revitalization project: No mixed use rezoning, No shade, lacking sidewalk connectivity, lacking pedestrianization, no bike lanes, barely any shops and restaurants oriented towards locals, excessive government spending, excessive disruption to businesses etc…
BUT some of these comments are really picking at straws, and I feel like you all are just being miserable for the sake of being miserable.
1. Why are we pretending that it doesn’t look nice? It looks way better than it did before.
2. Raised crossings are safer and more pedestrian friendly. Maybe the gradient of the ramps could be a bit gentler for lower vehicles however.
3. Pedestrianized streets are a great thing for so many reasons (look at Camana Bay), why on earth would we want to de-pedestrianize Cardinal Avenue? Its been great to have for several events and festivals already. It’s just not a success day to day because the businesses on Cardinal Avenue, are mostly oriented towards tourists.
Pretty or not, it’s not functional.
1. It looks gaudy and ugly. It’s debatable it looks any better than the pavement and sidewalks.
2. Great, pedestrian friendly for the no one doing business there.
3. How are people in a country where the car is the most common form of transport going to park and enjoy this place? This summer is going to be brutal there because of no shade and colorful bricks that will do nothing but make the whole place hotter than the Sahara Desert.
Colin Lumsden why did you take our parking spaces? Tourists dont buy anything here? They have souvenir shops on the ship that sell Cayman Islands souvenirs. Tourists only walk around like cattle. We need a petition for parking spaces in town!
Colin has ruined GT, but let us not forget those who have him the permission and money to do so. Investigate the revitalization.
Bury those ugly power lines
Too late
Do any of these planners know anything about shade trees?
Why could they not possibly have shade trees all over the area?
So stupid. Fire the people who planned this project now.
Civil servants don’t get fired, they get promoted.
I’ll bet you this same design genius is responsible for the concrete Kenny Park and wishing well .
Not one extra parking space, not one shade tree, not one cafe on Cardinal Ave, but a million coloured bricks radiating heat and every other store a jewellery store. The civil servant charged with the rejuvenation process only had to look at Camana Bay to see how it should be done, in a fraction of the time and at much less expense.
Why did government remove the black olive trees that provided shade and the benches. Both were provided by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman many years ago.
In fact, there is even less parking now then there was before. Welcome to George Town, hope you didn’t drive here!
No, we didn’t. We took the new and improved light rail system, and/or the reliable, safe, air-conditioned bus system. Gee, isn’t it wonderful living in make-believe land. I sure hope your meds kick in as good as mine, so you can enjoy them too.
What a clusterf#@% those behind this need to be jailed for as long as it took to create this mess !
The benefactors of those huge humps in central Georgetown need to be put in jail but some have stupidly chosen to elect their spouses to elected office listening to political dummies! What a friggin mess!
Why do they need lights at all?
No one in George Town after dark.
Whole project was an absolute waste of money.
The lights look like Tarantulas on poles.
I often implore my wife to accompany me into central GT in the evenings. Then, we could stroll around arm in arm, as we peak into all those lovely boutique stores, before stopping into the delightful cafes and lapping up the delightful ambience. After the café, the abundance of restaurants and bars that open late into the night.
Ah, actually, we’d be able to look at some miserable buildings, everything is closed. Diamond stores, t-shirt stores, and other retailers are dotted all around, all of them offering nothing that a resident will be bothered about. Nice cafes are gone. There’s no atmosphere, no vibrancy. GT is done for.
” Diamond stores, t-shirt stores, and other retailers are dotted all around ”
aka the whole reason why there was ANY momentum at all for a Yes vote to a cruise pier, and evidently fueled by a few, rich and vocal business owners.
What are we supposed to DO in this “revamped” park?? Sit in the sun on a hot metal bench and bake? Muse about how we wished businesses were in this space? Wish for grass and trees instead of designer bricks? Wish for a name of the park that reflected the spirit of the Cayman Islands?
@4:54 pm. Kenneth had to agree with it if Jay had any involvement. Remember Kenneth was MP of GTC (nothing can happen in districts of this magnitude that the MPs do not sign off on) plus Kenneth was Minister of Tourism of which GTC play a huge role in…think cruise visitors etc.
I used to sit and have my lunch under the beautiful shade trees in the park across from the LA. The Hero’s Park is now hotter than the sun. Congrats CIG.
Anyone taking bets on how long they last before they are completely neglected and non functional due to lack of foresight by CIG and their absolutely, cretinous inability to build in maintenance plans and funding to their white elephants?
10/1 on 6 months if anyone wants to take me up?
Hurt people hurt people. Get some counseling. It is better to look at the positive, rather than the negative.
Understand you.
Hurt people shouldn’t blame anyone; blaming — although often accurate — doesn’t do them any good. Hurt people have to accept that everything that happens to them is their responsibility. Fault doesn’t help or matter. This is the path to autonomy and life. All best.
…”Look for the positive”. I’m looking, still looking, still looking. THERE it is: Greased pockets for slimy politicians and businesses of their back room supporters.
This was a stupid disaster. Planning should have said no. Open the road back up and fix the infrastructure. Stupid. What a waste of tax payers money.
no lights are on at the cpa
What an eyesore. Even driving around there is bizarre with lifted cross walks. Did the designer qualify at a ranking urban design school?
The “designer” is a civil servant and not a qualified professional, and not answerable to anyone .
But thanks for adding the lights, so we can better see where we Can’t park.
Florida State education will only get you so far in life.
…or a “Doctorate” (religious, of course) from the Hamburger Flipping University of South Miami (“Reformed”)……
My favorite is the screaming “I have a Masters” from someone who obtained it from California Coastal online and considers that to be education.
Geezum,
Some shade canopy awnings strung across the street and a few dozen picnic tables would have cost Pennies.
Look at Camana Bay Market Street: Sunbrella Shade awnings, Trees (with circle benches surrounding them) Green plants everywhere. Water fountains = Done! ✔️
but then they couldn’t have had their buddies charge 5x the price to do something that could have cost 50k
but then they couldn’t have had their buddies charge 5x the price to do something that could have cost 50k.
bingo
New Government, please investigate this GTRI Fiasco! Poor project management has resulted in a big waste of public funds and the contractor making off with a big bag of our money!!
All pro-PPM Bandits!!!!!
Check who OWNS Robson Construction
Check who was the George Town Manager and Revitalisation Initiative Coordinator for the ministry..
Cayman amazes me with its lack of knowledge and its ability to to connect the dots with people.
These people have raped and taken advantage of the public purse.
They get away with this due to the largesse of the international financial services industry’s contribution to the public purse. Most native residents have no appreciation of where the islands’ taxes come from and echo “The Firm” (if the know anything at all) as their reference point.
The cretins “in charge” of the islands’ scandalous spending are probably stupid enough to think that tourism actually drives the economy.
Juju, Kenny B., Duh-Wayne and the rest of the barrio bandits, couldn’t open a bank account, but yet are allowed to play monopoly games with the peoples’ finances – with no repercussions.
Sad, sad and sadder – until the musical chairs stop.
PPM didn’t give Robson the contract, but I feel ya.
Light pollution. Still no shades.
Another Vanity project. Complete waste of funds.
Thank Jay, the newest member of NCFC.
You saying Jay told Collin to prepare an amateurish stupid and expensive design..?
place is an eyesore
How much money is CIG going to allow Collin Lumsden to waste? This is the most expensive beautification project known to man AND it did nothing to revitalize GT!
There’s no way he has had a PM over the last 7 years.
6.00….Don’t know about PM… but he does have an MP now.
Don’t matter if there’s no parking.
What is the energy consumption per annum and why is the lighting not networked to a solar grid and/or solar lighting instead of adding to a grid that is powered by fossil fuels?
Literally zero points to PAHI for failing to address sustainable solutions which includes chopping down all the trees and not allowing for appropriate shade trees, canopies or ‘living’ architecture.
Does the project manager even know what the Sustainable Development Goals are??? You are going to be able to bbq on those pavers this summer!
You’ll recall that the so-called “action man” from East End once said on radio Cayman that solar was not a realistic option (sic) as the sun did not shine at night….
With that level of understanding by the powers that be, are you surprised?
You guys talking about Kenneth’s park, what about this cluster f**k by Jay? Adding lights so it’s more welcoming for people to come and walk around and see that there is nothing to do. This was a huge waste of money. It should only have be done in tandem with a rezoning of town to residential. Killed businesses, caused traffic and spend millions for absolutely nothing.
and took away all the parking for the few businesses that have managed to survive
You can’t blame Jay for this one. He went and found Collin wasting money trying to duplicate Barcelona.
You can’t blame Jay for this. He went and found Collin and PPM wasting money on this.
The PPM had zero to do with this. This was Jays responsibility and his alone. If his staff were not doing what they were supposed to do it’s his responsibility.
Wow. This project was a PPM project. Please show us how ignorant and uneducated you are.
I agree Jay could have stepped in as the Minister once he got in and hold the reins a little. But this project screams PPM in every single aspect my dear. Let’s do some research…
https://caymannewsservice.com/2019/07/manager-to-offer-insight-into-gt-facelift/
Where was JAY EBANKS in 2019?
https://portal.elections.ky/files/downloads/ge2017/COUNT-FOR-COMMAND-CENTER-%202017.pdf
NEW GOVERNMENT, please reopen Cardinal Avenue to traffic.
Can we petition them to open it back up?
First we should start a petition to spell Cardinall Avenue correctly.