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.
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Category: development, Local News, Politics
Options B1, B2, B3, B4….what does it matter? The EWA is a big waste – road to nowhere, as all roads lead to the bottlenecks of Smith Road and Thomas Russell Way!! What then?
Diversify! Create a reliable public transport system and Go East with development!
Follow the money Folks..It is always about the money..
In more developed countries they hire the experts to tell them pretty much what they were going to do anyway (“build a road”) but they at least have the decency to follow the expert’s advice when it comes to specifics.
Here, they make a mockery of the process by ignoring the outputs altogether – not just “build the road anyway” but “build the road that is most advantageous to my cronies”, despite a easily-read table that lays out that it is not the best option for the public. It is insulting to all of the civil servants involved, as well as those consultants – especially insulting to those civil servants who debased themselves by knowingly advocating to achieve the corrupt results.
Where should I protest, whom should I implore, Senators, because the republic is being torn apart for any kind of audacious profiteer? Should I complain to the Roman people? They are so corrupted by bribes that they offer themselves and their fortunes for sale.
Waste of time and money unless you get rid of the round abouts and install “traffic control devices”
Get rid of people who steadfastly refuse to use them properly first!
Route B1 makes the most sense. Go ahead and give us drivers some relief!
Finally. I can develop that land me madda left me when she passed. Bottles of wine on the way once this is passed. Same day delivery.
The land register is public information. Just publish the names of the property owners along each route.
Goal of this road has always been to open up land for development in the heart of Cayman
Its not about traffic and never has been –
if it was about traffic there would be a proper public transportation system in place that used buses, trams and had designated parking on the outskirts of town
There would be limitations on the number of cars that can be owned and operated per household
Expats would not be allowed to import cars or operate cars barring exceptional circumstance
Among those “key” developments being DART’s Bodden Town District landfill, and Imperato’s Port. Where is Alden’s tomato farm?
So much talking. Get on with it already.
Understanding who are the high profile land owners that will benefit from the chosen option is a crucial step in this national discussion.
In Cayman it is easy to understand how decisions are made when you “Follow the money”
Exactly. Not at all surprised they want the original route to FS as promises were made and back door deals were done for this more than a decade ago. The ACU and the AG ought to investigate all these shady dealings.
They aren’t shady deals. Nope. They are deals that have been and are made every. single. day. in Cayman. This is our culture. We support and allow corruption. We fail to oversee it and fail to stop it. I don’t know how to do those things, but I know it will continue until we all choose to make a difference.
We do not agree to any of this. It is our largely imported agencies responsible for law enforcement that seem adept at permitting misbehaviors, sometimes to the point of facilitation.
We have agreed (through our elected legislators) to laws. We have agreed to pay people to enforce them. That is what we have agreed to.
Come on, we always knew this was about land access for the right people and not about traffic.
Why should we pay for it and the developers and politicians walks away with all the profits? Our next generation will be left with a failing environment and maintenance of these roads that water authority will be digging up after the asphalt is laid…..utter madness!!
Honorable Madam Premier, you just build that road however you see fit and to hell with all the cry babies. You are the best!
It will be the one that benefits the land owners who may or may not be current politicians, allegedly.
@1:37pm…No alleging there..FACTS!!
Publish a list of the private land owners along the routes. Showing the main beneficiaries will reveal a good deal. A really good deal actually.
roads to nowehere that will solve nothing and only make traffic worse in the long run.
as the dogs in the street know…this road is being used to open up more land for sprawling low rise detached housing developments…. a disaster for cayman in every way possible.
any comment mrs governor?
from the people who said building more roads is not the answer…yep, you are getting more roads.
welcome to wonderland
At least CIG is consistent . Always willing to do the wrong thing.
What we think about all this makes no difference whatsoever in the outcome.
Really? Who holds the voting power?
When elected members can recombine in any configuration that suits them, voting has NO power.
Road not needed. Won’t help.
Who is jockeying to own this adjacent land that this thoroughfare will open up? This is one of the oldest methods of political enrichment and corruption there is. If this isn’t a transparent process then the FCO and ACC need to hit their buzzers immediately. This should be public domain information.