East End MLA Arden McLean has drafted a petition asking Premier McKeeva Bush, Cabinet and Governor Duncan Taylor not to support the port project proposed in East End by developer Joseph Imparato.
Mr. McLean told an audience of well over one hundred adults on Monday night that he was not circulating the petition until he heard their comments and decided whether it needed amending.
As people entered the district’s William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre, they could pick up a drawing of the proposed facility and also view an aerial photograph relating its site to the general area, historically known as Clarinda Beach, between Half Moon Bay and High Rock Drive.
The proposal involves digging a channel 600 feet wide from the sea through the ironshore inland to a basin that would cover 100 acres, Mr. McLean explained. The basin would be dug 55 to 60 feet deep. To get to a 60-foot depth in the sea, developers would have to dig out some 2,500 to 3,000 feet, he said.
The channel is too wide to build a bridge over, so the proposal is that people will have to drive around the project, which goes three-fourths of a mile inland at its deepest point.
The project would change forever the character of the district and land used for farming, require closure of the scenic coastline road, and cause significant disruption to people’s lives, Mr. McLean predicted. “That is what they’re proposing to destroy your community with,” he said.
However, he emphasised, that was his personal view: “My political position will be dictated by the people of East End.” As a marine engineer he knew what would happen to the district.
He also raised the issue of related costs. Building an east-west arterial to accommodate all the containers coming from the dock would cost $100 million, he said. Filling in government-owned land on the east side for use would cost $15 million.
Please see upcoming editions of the Caymanian Compass for more details….
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Sure would be nice to see a map or the aerial photo mentioned so we can better visualize where this monstrosity is proposed to be located.
Ask and you shall receive, wedge. See photo above.
When will the local residents learn that without new development and infrastructure the Cayman Islands will be left behind in the Caribbean tourism game? It hasn’t happened yet, but if the residents and the government continue to resist grand ideas like this one, the tourists, professionals, etc., will simply stop coming.
This will be just another nail in the Cayman coffin. We came here 20 years ago because of the islands beauty and diversified coast line, the wonderful people, high literacy rate, low crime rate, and no commercialized gambling. These things are all falling by the wayside for the sake of development.
The heavily advertized 7MB is no longer visible, unless you buy or rent the view, due to over building and the approval of mini skyscrapers.
The demographics have changed due to importation of temporary workers that never leave.
The literacy is in steady decline from people who have no desire to add intellectual input toward the country’s future.
The crime rate speaks for itself.
The introduction of casino gambling will only bring opportunity and people to further degrade life in this island nation.
So go ahead and punch a hole in East End and open the door to further development and another area to drive around and avoid.
Oh, did I forget to mention traffic? On our (used to be scenic) roads.
This idea in not a good one.
We can barely handle problems with crime and the influence of drug trafficing much less add a new port of entry.The world isn’t going to end if we take a minute and let the police do their job get a handle on things and then make a plan to deal with what problems the new port will bring.
Yes the new port will bring jobs but our main income is related to tourism. A low crime rate is essential
to this. That developement on the west side at the site of the turtle farm was and is a flop. Lets add a second flop to that mess.
Lets make sure what we have is woorking smoothly, reduce crime and make tourists welcome. The day trips that Cruisers now take are boring and humdrum.
We need to go backways to go forwards.
Clean up the state park on the west end. make it a toursit destination. Aren’t we supposed to be a classy place like Bermuda?
This is what we need to do first.
That Port sure is nice, Won’t change East End it will most likely be even more isolated,
Progress is what is needed. The naysayers must like the poverty and smokepots of yesteryear.
Its funny how a lot of people on this island, Caymanian’s or not, are always complaining that the economy is bad, there’s not enough jobs on the island, tourism is going down the tubes, not enough tourists are visiting East End and spending money there, less cruise ships are starting to visit, and the hotels are never fully booked. Most importantly, they are usually saying that government needs to do something to fix this problem. What i have noticed is that whenever somebody comes up with a great idea to fix the problem, government included, most of those people that are doing the complaining usually shoot down that wonderful idea before they even know the details about it. You cannot have your cake and eat it too, this islands needs change or its going to strangle itself to death. This port is the best idea that anybody has ever come up with on this island. It will create tons of jobs, it will bring more cruise ships in. It will boost the economy. It will help put money back into government’s pocketbook and would allow government to hire more police officers. It would take the congestion off the roads in town. It would promote more business’s to consider opening in East End to cater to the offloading tourists. It would also bring more wealthy clients (yes the ones who buy rolexes and crystal at Kirk) on the luxury yachts. People forget that everybody who docks at this new port facility will have to pay docking taxes and charges. Everybody benefits from this port, even if you don’t agree with it, your going to benefit weather you like it or not. This is a great idea, and i wish more people would see the positives that will come out of it.
Thanks for the artist’s rendering of the project.
I agree with the Honorable MLA Arden McLean views and professional opinion on the proposed East End Port Project. I support the opinion of the reader’s comments that Cayman Government should work on improving the West side development near the Turtle Farm. The potential environmental damage to marine life and fauna along with ruining the costal road is a receipe for disaster. Fear about Cayman losing out in the Caribbean economy is utter non-sense. The Caymaian people are more resilent and smart enough to continue to preserve the best of Cayman while securing their economic future without destroying the island with uncontrolled development.
Honestly you believe that tourists travel to see development? In some ways that is true. Tourists travel to see the worlds tallest building in Dubai, they travel to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge, they travel to Rio de Janeiro to see Christ the Redeemer and they used to travel to New York to see the Twin Towers. But the things that make them go back to these cities (and note these places are heavily populated cities) is not the development. They go back for the entertainment, the food, the culture and the atmosphere, or simply to shop. In some cases they only go back because it’s a stopover on the way to somewhere else (Dubai).
Cayman is an island… a FLAT island. Why do people go to islands in the sun? For rest, relaxation, the views and greenery. Do you want to know what the other caribbean islands have that Cayman seems hell bent on getting rid of? They have greenery, quiet, undeveloped beaches and the ‘soon come’ charm that the caribbean is known for. What on earth makes you think people want to spend thousands of dollars to come to Cayman to see the concrete jungle they left at home?
As a Caymanian living in a city for the past 8 years I can say that this is the very reason why I don’t holiday in Cayman. I have been to the eastern caribbean many times and frequently go to Turks and Caicos because it reminds me so much of what Cayman used to be like. When it comes to spending large amounts of money for a tropical vacation I go to the Seychelles or Samoa because I get the peace and tranquility, great food and service I expect.
I think it’s about time Caymanians got their head out of the sand and go and see what they are competing with. Then they will understand what it really takes to win the tourism race.
I need more information to form an opinion of the East End port project. For example, what is it’s precise location? It would be helpful if the Compass would publish a fully detailed map of the proposed port or a list of the block and parcel numbers comprising the project. Also useful would be specific details about the proposed road access points to the site both during and after project completion. Speaking of which, what will guarantee that port development will be carried through to completion? If a project of such grand proportions is abandoned half-way it could leave a large, permanent, and ugly wound on Grand Cayman’s heretofore most scenic coastline.
YES, I LOVE MY ECONOMY, I WANT JOBS…
BUT I LOVE MY ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE AS WELL…
HENCE, I CAN NOT SUPPORT THIS PROJECT!