The National Roads Authority is inviting members of the public to two town hall meetings, in North Side and Savannah next month to give updates on the next part of the East-West Arterial extension plan, which will encroach on the Central Mangrove Wetlands.
At the meetings, NRA representatives will discuss the next two planned sections of the road – from Woodland Drive to Lookout Gardens, and from Lookout Gardens to Frank Sound Road – as well as the terms of reference for an environmental impact assessment of the project.
Work is already under way along another section of the expanded highway, connecting Hirst Road to Woodland Drive.
In 2016, the National Conservation Council stated that an EIA would be required for the 10-mile extension because it would “traverse a substantial area of wetland habitat along the entire length of the southern perimeter of the Central Mangrove Wetland”.
Opponents to the project say the road will not only negatively impact the wetlands, but will inevitably bring more construction and housing developments, leading not just to more traffic congestion, but to more environmental ramifications in the area.
Meetings in North Side and Savannah
The first of the two public meetings will be held at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, 923 North Side Road, North Side, from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday, 7 Feb.
The second meeting will be at the church hall of the Cayman Islands Baptist Church, 163 Pedro Castle Road, Savannah, from 6pm to 9pm on Thursday, 9 Feb.
Representatives from the National Roads Authority and their EIA consulting team will be in attendance to provide information about the project, and answer questions from the audience.
The terms of reference, which will guide how the EIA will be carried out, are not yet publicly available but will be posted on the Department of Environment’s website on 30 Jan., after which they will be available for review for 21 calendar days.
Printed copies of the EIA terms of reference will also be available for review at the following locations:
- NRA Office – 370 North Sound Road, Grand Cayman
- North Side Post Office – 896 Northside Road, North Side
- Bodden Town Post Office – 189 Bodden Town Road, Bodden Town
- Savannah Post Office – 1687 Shamrock Road, Savannah
- Vernon L. Jackson Public Library and Learning Centre – 69 Bodden Town Road, Bodden Town
- East End Public Library – 2739 Sea View Road, East End.
Comments on the draft terms of reference can be submitted in writing to the Environmental Assessment Board, c/o the Department of Environment via email ([email protected]), post (DoE, PO Box 10202, KY1-1002), or hand delivery to the DoE office at 580 North Sound Road, George Town.
- Editor’s note: This story has been amended to include the correct dates of the meetings.
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What they should be doing is laying streetcar tracks down the middle between the eastbound lanes and westbound lanes with a big parking lot at Frank Sound Road. At the other end, it would meet up with larger busses to shuttle people downtown, Camana Bay and whatever other destination a lot of people go to. That would take a lot of cars off the road, be more efficient and not pollute the air. Maybe they have to go over the roundabouts.