Safety on Cayman’s roads came under the spotlight during 2023 after nine people were killed in collisions in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
Caymanian Thomas William McLean Sr, 47, died on 14 Feb. in a two-vehicle collision with an off-duty policeman near Polack Drive and Heights Road on Cayman Brac.
Italian waiter Abele Hiwet, 38, who was riding an electric bike, was killed in a hit-and-run on West Bay Road on 8 March.
Cyclist Daniel MacFarlane died when he was hit by a car on Frank Sound Road in North Side at about 9.30pm on 28 March.
On 25 April, Kieron Alexander Watler was killed when he was struck by a truck while riding his motorcycle on Walkers Road in Grand Cayman.
Channah Connor, the 22-year-old niece of Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, was the victim of the fatal single-vehicle collision on Shamrock Road at 1.30am on 30 April.
Marlon Everton Findley, 23, also died in an early morning single-car collision on Dennis Foster Drive in Cayman Brac on 15 July.
Father Randre David Lescombe, also known as Errol Simpson, 39, was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Esterley Tibbetts Highway on 23 Aug.
Tyler Nigel Parchment, 24, lost his life in a single-vehicle crash on Shamrock Road in Savannah on 7 Oct., and Mark Alexander Gordon died on Bodden Town Road on 14 Oct.
In November, the government released a Cayman-wide road safety plan setting out how deaths, injuries and offences on the islands’ roads can be cut over the next 15 years.
The main targets are to reduce road fatalities by 30% by 2028 and to eradicate them entirely by 2038.
Among the suggestions are sidewalks along all roads, speed cameras, cycle paths, road safety education in schools, and enforcement of tougher penalties for traffic offences.
Cayman’s congestion
While safety was a major concern in 2023, another was the congestion blighting Grand Cayman’s highways – particularly on the route between the east and west.
The debate over the National Roads Authority’s proposed 16-kilometre extension to the East-West Arterial from Hirst Road to Frank Sound Road hit the headlines several times.
Environmentalists have insisted that a section of the road needs an environmental impact assessment, while others said it should be scrapped to allow work to go ahead quickly.
In the latest update, Sustainable Cayman published a report comparing the proposed extension with two alternatives – one of which it says is a cheaper and greener option.
The bottleneck at the Grand Harbour roundabout also made the news, with dozens of residents publicly voicing strong objections to proposed changes.
The NRA had suggested orange posts be erected along the lane leading from the Grand Harbour exit to prevent drivers joining the roundabout, but this was later put on hold.
In November, a long-awaited transport report suggested that Cayman’s private bus service should be scrapped and replaced with a modern government-run public bus network.
Auditing company Deloitte, commissioned a year ago to offer solutions to the islands’ transport woes, said the move would help to reduce cars on the road by 20%.
An overhaul of the service is likely cost at least $25-30 million, the 154-page ‘Assessment of a Public Transport Strategy said, with the potential for costs to escalate further.
The lack of parking in George Town has continued to be a cause of tension among workers and shoppers in the commercial centre.
Several planning applications have sought to address the issue in 2023, with carparks and other parking infrastructure among the proposed projects.
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