A little more than half of the respondents to last week’s cayCompass.com online poll said they were either somewhat against or totally against the potential closure of a section of West Bay Road with traffic being rerouted to an extended Esterley Tibbetts Highway.
Of the 707 total respondents, 302 of them – 42.7 per cent – said they were totally against the plan.
“To give this much power to any single person is not a good idea,” said one person.
“This is one of the worst projects for the people of Cayman in recent history,” said someone else. “I will never vote for the UDP again.”
“We need to retain two distinct roads,” said another respondent. “This is a backwards step for the Island. A better solution should be found.”
“Is this island part of the United Kingdom or the Dart Kingdom?” asked one person.
“I don’t want to inhale the stench of the road in the swamp,” said someone else. “I love to feel and smell the fresh breezes. All traffic will divert to Dart properties as it will be inconvenient to use the West Bay Road when travelling.”
“Every single driver will have to spend more time, more money, more wear and tear, with more traffic and more turns every single time they drive from West Bay to George Town. Forever. With no payback,” said someone else.
“I like the idea of a by-pass road, but not closing a public road to satisfy one developer,” said another respondent.
“What happened to two routes to West Bay?” asked one person.
Another 67 people – 9.5 per cent – said they were somewhat against the proposal.
“Why do you have to close the road?” one person asked. “Just provide the option for bypass for direct route to West Bay.”
“If there is only one road into West Bay, what happens when there is an accident and police have to close the road?” said another person. “I think it is always good to have a backup plan.”
A large segment of respondents also supported the plan, with 197 people – 27.9 per cent – saying they supported it totally.
“This one is a no-brainer and the fact that so many people are protesting against it is evidence that there are a lot of people around here with no brains,” said one person.
“The [Citizens Against Virtually Everything] people would rather have us living like a forgotten backwater than to allow Dart to make a profit,” said another respondent. “The expansion and upgrading of public beach is long overdue,” commented one person.
“As a qualified highway and traffic engineer, the current West Bay Road is a road safety nightmare, an accident waiting to happen,” said another respondent. “A 40 mph speed limit combined with large volumes of through traffic (often in a rush), multiple vehicle accesses, shopping, hotels, tourists and crossing pedestrians needs sorting and changes urgently. This scheme will re-route much of the through traffic, improve road safety, allow speed limit reduction and the introduction of traffic calming initiatives like pedestrian refuges, speed humps, width restrictions, etc. Drivers who object to loss of sea view should keep their eyes on the road or park up and walk.”
“Cars don’t belong on the beach, people do,” said someone else. “Seriously, why have the roads take up all the best real estate?”
Another 117 people – 16.5 per cent – said they mostly supported the proposal.
“If it will help boost the economy, then I am for it, to heck with the people who protest against everything,” said one person. “I need to pay my mortgage, not sit on my rear and stare at the water all day, That part of West Bay road is a pedestrian death trap anyway and it’s our own people that drive down that road like they could care less about pedestrians.”
Twenty-four people – 3.4 per cent – responded ‘I don’t know’ to the poll question.
Next week’s poll question
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Cayman Islands right now?
The economy
Crime
The local political situation
Caymanian-expatriate relations
Other (write in comments)
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I can only hope that this suggested change does not happen.Ken Dart has got more than his fair share of that tiny island.Let the ‘little Caymanian ‘ have their voice heard for a change.