Government’s decision to explore modular flyovers and elevated road infrastructure as one of the solutions to Grand Cayman’s traffic crisis has sparked intense public debate and renewed calls for investment in public transport.
Government is exploring elevated road systems as a possible means to fix gridlock on the roads.
Some Compass readers, posting on the newspaper’s Facebook page, welcomed the move, with several saying they had been advocating for overpasses at key choke points for years.
Others questioned the need for investment in infrastructure and criticised slow progress on public transport reform or more innovative traffic management solutions.
“Get a proper bus service, get London buses, paint them Caribbean colours, make it iconic, create jobs, give buses their own lanes, then congestion charge the peak hours. Sorted. No more ugly roads,” said one person.
The sentiment was widely shared, with commenters pointing to Bermuda – a British territory of comparable size that restricts car ownership and operates a functioning public bus network – as a model Cayman has consistently failed to follow.
“More roads (or flyovers) will never solve the traffic problem. Reliable public transport, limiting car imports, limiting how many cars each household can have … all solutions that work. Not sure why the government are avoiding these proven solutions,” another response on the Cayman Compass Facebook page noted.
Others raised concerns about aesthetics and island character. Flyovers, known in the US as overpasses, would fundamentally change the look and feel of Grand Cayman.
One reader warned they would “turn Cayman from a tropical island to an American city”.
A number of commenters pointed to population growth as the root cause of traffic issues, arguing that no infrastructure solution addresses the underlying problem of an island that has grown faster than its road network.
“Stop growing a population that this island clearly cannot sustain,” one commenter wrote. “Why do Caymanians, who make up maybe 20% of the population, spend the majority of their days sitting in traffic?”
Caymanians currently make up around 45% of the islands’ estimated population of just over 90,000.
The concept of a flyover to bypass key choke points, like the Grand Harbour roundabout, was not without support. Several commenters claimed to have suggested the same thing years ago.
“I think we need both flyovers and a proper bus system,” one reader wrote.
Others weighed in with myriad suggestions, like creating a system of light rail or cable cars.
“A tram running from George Town port to public beach would be a great start,” said one commenter.
Government is currently out to tender to find another consultant to look at reforming the bus system.
At this stage, government has said it is simply seeking expressions of interest to test what is possible in Cayman’s space-limited environment. A separate request for proposals is also out for a public transport reform plan.
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