The length of West Bay Road that will be closed to the public is almost a quarter of a mile longer than the government and Dart Realty announced, opponents to the road closure have revealed.
At a packed public meeting in West Bay on Thursday, 19 January, Alice Mae Coe of West Bay’s Concerned Citizens Group made a presentation showing that the stretch of road to be closed, cited as being 2,500 feet long – just under half a mile – by ForCayman Investment Alliance, was in fact 3,731 feet long – or nearly three quarters of a mile long.
Ms Coe and others measured the stretch of road from Harbour Heights, opposite Governor’s Way, to Yacht Drive and found it to be considerably longer than had been earlier announced.
“Who is misleading whom?” Ms Coe asked, firing back at accusations made earlier by Premier McKeeva Bush who said the opponents to the road closure had misled some people into signing a petition protesting the plan.
“One foot is too much to give away, and when you say ‘it’s really only 2,500 feet’ but we measure it and it’s 3,731 feet – that does not encourage us to trust anything that’s been coming out of the mouths of anyone promoting this deal, sorry, this steal,” Ms Coe said.
According to the Lands and Survey map, the measurements presented at the meeting are accurate.
Responding to the apparent discrepancy over the length of road earmarked for closure, the ForCayman Investment Alliance said in a statement: “The location of the proposed road closure has been always been clearly stated – from Yacht Drive and the southern boundary of Public Beach.
“The reference to 2,500 lineal feet was a reference to the undeveloped beach frontage, from Sundowner to the public beach. The actual linear length being considered might evolve, but this would only be as a result of input from relevant stakeholders such as National Roads Authority, e.g. on the most practical ways to design roads and entries onto the Esterley Tibbetts Highway.”
A four-page pamphlet released by the ForCayman Investment Alliance earlier this month included a response to a frequently asked question on why so much of the road had be closed. It stated: “A section of West Bay Road, approximately 2,500 feet, will be closed to facilitate the development of a new four-to-five-star hotel and other future resort development opportunities.”
The proposed closure of the road and the subsequent loss of public vehicular access to the existing public beach has drawn strong opposition. More than 4,000 people signed a petition to oppose the closure of the portion of road and opponents are now in the process of organising a protest rally in George Town.
At Thursday’s meeting, an analysis of the petition showed that 2,363 of those who signed were registered voters, 1,377 were residents, 368 were visitors and eight were children.
The road closure is part of a wide-ranging deal announced in June between Dart and the government that encompasses the expansion of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway to West Bay, the opening of a new four/five star hotel on the site of the former Courtyard Marriott, the relocation of the public dump to Bodden Town and remediation of the current landfill, $18 million in funding by Dart for community projects and education, and other land swaps.
Site clearing for the expanded highway began this month and road works are expected to begin in March.
In a news release from the ForCayman Investment Alliance announcing the start of the expansion work last week, Premier Bush said the final approval of the West Bay Road closure was conditional on an independent review.
“The process for the independent review is under way and being led by a technical committee of senior civil servants that is chaired by Dr. Dax Basdeo. Other members include Mr. Max Jones, Public Works Department, Mr. Colford Scott, Chairman of the NRA and Mr. Jonathan Jackson, Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands & Agriculture,” Mr. Bush said.
Through the independent review, the government is seeking confirmation that the agreement signed with the National Roads Authority provides value for money and benefits to the Cayman Islands, the release read.
Dart Realty has awarded the contract to Caymanian-owned heavy equipment contractor, Shamrock Heights Equipment, to coordinate independent Caymanian heavy equipment operators with work for the Esterley Tibbets Highway expansion project.
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For the love of god. Looking at ANYTHING to derail this plan. ANYTHING.
There are more trees on that side of the road than the other side.
What did they do? Guess at how long the road closure would be? I don’t think so!
Is there any other secrets that we dont know about? Why are we learning about this now? These are questions that all Caymanians in their senses should be asking!
You get what you vote for..
Mr Bush sarcastic remarks in regard to the airport not having a sea view to argue about shows how far removed he is from the real Cayman people and their values..
There is a reason why evolved democracies limit their presidents time in office, and Cayman is a clear example..
Cayman,s growth must be balanced.. as we toot our horn about having the highest standard of living in the Caribbean we must not forget much has been at the expense of our land..
Caymanians have been selling their land and this money was part of our economic growth which many fail to consider or reveal.
I once asked a CEO of a large company, why not purchase land on behalf of the company and have land when we need it to expand..
His answer was; as a good corporate citizen we would not want to take advantage of a small country’s economy by hoarding land, that as a partner with the island it would be more fitting to purchase land when it is needed thereby paying the true market value at the time of purchase and positively effecting the economy..
This same company has been with us from the misquotes days, true corporate citizens who at a lost for decades formed our telecommunication company..
On their backs now ride the carpet baggers, down a road forged by true grit and sacrifices of others.
It would be nice if people would tell the truth. 1200 feet of the closure is the part along the public beach and will be part of the new public beach park. No surprise here, it’s JUST LIKE IN THE MAPS! The 2500′ Dart gets is along the beachfront property Dart already owns and that everyone trespasses on like it belonged to them.
The hotel has failed over and over again. Is anyone addressing the REAL PROBLEM?? Its the hotel , If you were staying there with your family (husband ,wife, and two kids) would you want to stay there and have to cross the street to get to the beach? So for the hotel to be profitable it needs to close the roads and widen the beach.
I understand you need a political flag to wave but pick crime not investments or investors. This man is now a Caymanian he has done more then most borne here Caymanians. When he got the road closed . He could have simply requested all who are going to from west bay to just go around. But instead he is paying for a 4 lane highway . hallelujah!! The lord has blessed us!!!!
4Dafuture
I hear what you’re saying.
I do try to bring as objective a mind and views to my comments as possible, even in an environment that’s heavily lopsided in favour of emotional influences that can cloud the mind and influence a person’s perspective.
In answer to your comments, I totally agree with you in essence but…
That location for a major hotel HAD ALWAYS BEEN an extremely bad choice from an economic and financial point of view.
The commercial hotels corridor along the West Bay Road/7-Mile Beach originally ended at the Western Causarina, with the major development of the Ritz-Carlton almost adjacent and opposite…after the public beach area,comes the traditional condominium developments, leading into WB.
Within the time that this Marroitt Courtyard was built, the hotel guest market in Cayman had ALREADY become saturated, due to a shrinking market and product overpricing…
I’m one of the accountants who originally audited and valued the Hyatt Brittania for sale so I have a clue about what I’m saying here.
What this new development is working out to be is between Dart and Michael Ryan as to MY HOTEL IS BIGGER THAN YOUR HOTEL schoolboy antics…only, this isn’t the schoolyard and there’s huge issues at stake…along with but not limited to…which mega-wealthy developer in Cayman has more money.
The local issue has always been about control of the beach and its accesses…when the Ritz-Carlton was built, it was as well and the compromise was to build a direct walkway over the WB Road, connecting the North Sound and 7-Mile Beach locations of the Ritz, without compromising the beach in any way.
Either way you cut the cake, closing the WB road at any juncture and widening the 7-Mile Beach to accomodate Darts new hotel is compromising the integrity of access and control of the 7-Mile Beach; it is immaterial that a super-highway is being built in compensation…
for those for whom integrity of the 7-Mile Beach is more important, as the national culture and laws of Cayman says it should be.
And, with the oversaturated commercial hotel market as it stands, with Cuba’s commercial tourist market opening up and looming like a shadow over the rest of the Caribbean…
There is absolutely no guarantee that Darts gamble on this major economic and infrastructure change will turn a poor hotel location that failed before, into a succesful one.
Without passing any judgment, and taking my own experience of the Hyatt Brittania in account…
IMO, it is a HUGE gamble to be taking.