Work plods along to ‘revitalize’ George Town
(CNS): The planning ministry is claiming to have made progress on Phase Two of the George Town Revitalization Initiative, a project that has been ongoing for years and has led to the closure of various roads in the capital as each element of the work has been rolled out. Throughout the height of the tourist season this year Edward Street and Mary Street have remain closed. But according to a press release the initiative is on track and will provide better pedestrian safety, smoother traffic flow, more parking, and upgraded utilities.
“These changes will make George Town a more vibrant and sustainable place for everyone to enjoy. For regular updates and to stay informed about upcoming road closures or project developments, follow the George Town Revitalization Initiative on Facebook and Instagram,” officials from the ministry stated in the latest release about the long-term project.
According to officials from the ministry the following elements have been completed or are underway:
* Filling and compaction of final lift have been completed and tested.
* Approximately 85% of the concrete bands along the western side of the area have been installed.
* Excavations for bollards have been completed, and the installation of steel cages to the foundation has commenced. The pouring of bollard foundations was completed in December.
* The foundation for the new monument seating wall is being built and is making progress. Final touches on the monument garden, including seating and landscaping, are expected to be completed in the first part of next year.
* 70% of the new mature trees have been planted, with more trees to follow shortly.
* Conduit installation up poles has been completed. CUC is currently awaiting electrical connectors to proceed with the next phase of works, which includes the installation of wires and energizing the system. Temporary streetlights were erected without power for the holiday season while awaiting the energization of the system.
* Excavation for lighting in the monument area has been completed.
* Light bases at the corner of the Bodmer Building are currently being poured .
Updates from the National Roads Authority (NRA):
* Additional signage to direct pedestrians is currently in production and will be installed soon.
Upcoming Events and Traffic Management.
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Category: Local News
GT is now mainly a Cruise port town.
But, who benefits from tourism?
The hotels are full, and the tourism season is going great.
But, Why do we still have doormen, front desk and concierge staff on work permit from Countries around the world?
This must end in 2025, and just as past governments did for our Condo Managers, there should be a STOP on these work permit posts that could be filled — even by new High School graduates, or older Caymanian men and women!
Eg. Mr Neeley of West Bay has been doing this job from the 1980s, and is a great tourism ambassador!
A simple Cabinet policy directive to Immigration could stop these frivolous permits today!
Any public project is just a front to funnel money to politicians and their cronies. Why do you think this particular project is taking so long? The longer it takes, the longer they keep the gravy train going.
Just wait till they get the $50 million Brac school and the port project going. Wake the hell up Cayman.
If you’re a voter, petition to the Governor to dissolve the Parliament. That no voter has started this speaks volumes.
Absolute rubbish. Locals only visit on the odd occasion they need perfume or a gift for someone. I’m not dropping by to buy diamonds or Cayman Islands t-shirts made in Vietnam.
Idiotic ideas badly executed.
They should erect statues of some of our MPs, gazing toward the entrance to one of the courtrooms.
LOL
One pissing against a wall, another selling a crack rock to a tourist, one on donkey crashed into a light pole, etc.
I like the nice new paving by the post office. Work has been going on for so long, and traffic has been so slow, there’s a literal line of oil and fuel dropped down the middle from all the crapheaps that have been sat idling on the road. Nice new paved drip tray, yay!
What is the plan for the glasshouse? They should tear it down and build a nice green space
YES, YES, YES. Tear down that derelict vacant building. Its been 14 years since the new Government Administration Building was opened.
Some green grass and shade trees in its place. PLEASE.
(The various governments and civil servants literally see that derelict building every day. Did anyone ever question “hey, what do we do about that thing?”).
I have suggested for a very long time that with an “asbestos” clean up, if indeed that is the problem, the Glass House would make a great home for the National Museum.
Educational with parkland. Ideal for cruise ship visitors and Islanders to enjoy!
Biggest scam going in Georgetown!
George Town
Robson construction-is connected to who ?? Follow the money matrix Cayman!
Say who in your anonymous comment so we can all know. Not just you.
OK great but why? I can’t think of a single shop I want to visit in GT. In any event with that massive block of apartments going up behind Kirk Freeport with almost no parking, any new parking is going to be quickly absorbed.
I think planning actually rejected that development in late 2024.
well it looks almost finished to me.
hope they do more solar powered benches..lol…….zzzzzzzzz
Did the project have planning permission. If so I never saw it in the minutes of the CPA meetings. Other government projects have obtained CPA permission. Where do they draw the line. Just asking, that is all.
No parking for workers, business operators much less customers. No court house parking. No parking for shopping. Nope. Not making George Town great again. Shame.
PARKING WHERE? How many businesses have closed after closing whole roads? The homeless will have more beautiful spaces to sleep undisturbed under the post office. Its a ghost town now.SAD.
The siphoning oops fleecing of public funds into hands of their political minions and underlings continues unabated only a change in government might expose or reveal this extremely corrupt scheme and its laundering cycle, but alas a marriage of convenience between the two main political pariahs and their domino loving Mafiya has long past and the enrichment program has become so well established now we cannot possibly stop it ! Nor do they want to because the world class civil service Mafia who has long been suspected of colluding and being involved have obviously now been cut in on the action and given a seat at their signature Domino table and it’s profit sharing events and tribute schedule agreements. The public only evidence of this is the enormous amount of assets and accumulation of wealth and girth of those involved in this grand scheme.
Who did you vote for in the past 20+ years??? If corrupt Ministers are voted out the rest will take notice. Stop typing and do something Cayman.
More parking???? Where???? KMFT.
Government did not need to change a single brick to revitalize downtown.
Three hour maximum on street parking with parking meters that work.
Multi story parkade with meters that work in the “Craft Market/Heritage Park” lot.
Change the zoning to allow 5 floors retail on the ground floor, offices on the second floor, residential on the top three floors… And require developers to provide parking.
NEVER close Seafarers Way for ANY event.
Ask offices downtown to open their parking lots on Saturdays and encourage businesses to open even if there are no ships in town.
Until they grow the balls to knock down the Courthouse, Glasshouse, Anderson Square and Thompson Building, nothing improves.
Stop installing powerlines!!!!! Bury them like camanabay.
For whom? No parking anywhere, not even bike racks.
Old GT is dead. Ugly buildings from the 1960s to early 1990s. The new ‘central downtown’ is Camana Bay (and a bit of the Cricket Square area, but just during daytime on weekdays).
The several of the last few large business entities, Deloitte and Appleby, vacated downtown to Camana Bay last year. (And who might be moving into the new building going up at Camana Bay…Maples maybe?).
Finding parking in old GT is nearly impossible anyway.
And yet if you work at Camana Bay, that ruins it for you. I’d rather work somewhere else and be able to enjoy Camana Bay.
Camana Bay sucks
Old GT is slowly (and I believe deliberately) becoming cheap office space for government.
It’s dying and horribly managed. There is no parking and too many places rely on cruise passengers to survive. So with dwindling cruise and no parking everything is closing up shop. Anchor tenants from the bigger buildings are gone to Camana bay or Cricket square and have been replaced by government workers. That will continue until the “city” is dead.
Go there on a Friday or Saturday night and there’s almost nothing open. Go to camana bay and that’s where everyone is.
6 month project 18 months and counting….
Morons in charge!!
Meanwhile the businesses are being forced to close and the money keeps flowing to the “contractor”.
A waste of damn use of public money. To me it seems government is now trying to recreate a Camana Bay to compete with Dart. What they don’t know is that it’s a bit little to late. Most of all the law, accounting firms, restaurants, clothing stores and banks are all in walking distance from their cars i.e there is parking. Did they see the traffic at Bayshore mall the week of Christmas? IDIOTS!!!
They are killing businesses in town and there is no damn parking!!
I love how they pedestrianise cardinal avenue and still leave kerbs… WTF. great for old people and wheel chairs. Is there no planning or common sense? They can’t even make a proper pedestrian zone.
George Town has no respect for those in wheelchairs particularly on North Church Street where cars and buses park at the sidewalk precluding access to the handicapped. Send Fabian out to ticket these inconsiderate people. Of equal concern are all those advertising signs blocking the sidewalks. Where are the enforcement people.
Yes, the dive shop owner at Atlantis is always parked on the sidewalk. What is wrong with this man?
See RCIPS driving by it daily and doing jack shit.
Same shit, different day.
Progress yes, much progress on mucking up the quaint beautiful town that we once had. Reminds me of the proverbial “bull in the China shop” another memorial to honour Kenneth Bryan. What a disaster! I don’t know about the rest of us but I am so sick and tired of his stupidity.
Sick and tired of his yellow “look at me” Illegal billboards as well.
How can a minister of government break the law and continue to get away with it. ?
Fix the damn dump.
There are no responsible plans to line or remediate the landfill. This is a CIG engaged in secret side deals, that continues to hide KYD$2bln from the public Balance Sheet, that saw fit to walk back accountability and self-indemnify themselves from prosecution for illegalities incurred while in office.
NEVER in your lifetime.
Not intelligent enough and never will be. The UK will do it after CIG goes bankrupt.
Many more shade trees needed with benches under. Palms are not shade trees.
Why did they rip out the Black Olive Trees planted by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman many years ago. The club also supplied several benches. They were constructed by the inmates at Northward and were very sturdy. Why does CIG not ask Northward to do some more?
The Northward carpentry shop was closed for awhile, we tried to get some stuff built and they said they weren’t dong that anymore. If they are, they might advertise it.
Does our Planning Law allow for residential accommodation in the GT central business area? If not, why not? IMO that is vital to revitalise the CBA.
They are trying to buy people’s house n land in GT to turn into commercial use!
For Dart to buy for Kenny to sell to turn into Scranton Park.
Thank you Mr Dart, you are the greatest.
LMAO
Pure f@keridges and waste of public funds it has made central GT impossible!!
How much did this train wreck cost and who are to blame?
World class my a$$ the civil service is a wasteful joke!
No PWD employee is ever admonished, dismissed, held accountable , expected to meet budgets and deadlines, or be qualified.
A perfect example of civil servants’ inability to do a job which should be left to professionals.
Their performance in both design and execution of this downtown disaster, is a perfect example of public waste, and a disgraceful example of indifference to the interests of the public and merchants of George Town.
Homegrown Genius Architech, the Town Mayor.
“Sustainable.” Does anyone in government who uses this word understand what it means? Ever?
Sustainable money wastage.
Sustainable high costs.
Sustainable enormous energy prices (Sister Islands now catching up with CUC)
Sustainable graft.
Sustainable poverty.
Sustainable income for government via outlandish insurance costs.
Thanks for nothing.
Finish the darn thing for peye sakes…holding up traffic
…and cannot even walk around there!!!
The workers have been instructed to count and recount each and every grain of sand by the environmentalists and government bureaucrats.
The objective is to force out all businesses still operating so that Dart and the development mob won’t have to pay buyouts when they demolish the existing pathetic looking buildings and rebuild them as either a giant park or a 50+storey highrise monument shaped to look like a ship.
Why do they keep
Planting palm trees? It should be lovely shade trees. Now cardinal Avenue is hotter than ever and no one is going down it.
Cayman is going against the grain , Miami is removing many of its Palm trees and replacing them with shade trees
This bunch don’t know the difference, they think palm trees are shade trees. They can’t tell the difference between palm trees and sea grape trees either .
Don’t you get it?
That’s phase 2
Palm trees are cheap
Palm trees are not cheap!