A new piece of pavement sweeping equipment will clean the roads and sidewalks of George Town on a daily basis.
Responding to a Parliamentary question in Legislative Assembly last week, Minister of Infrastructure Arden McLean outlined the George Town Pedestrian Facilities and Beautification Programme.
‘The objective is to upgrade many of the pedestrian facilities in George Town, which include sidewalks, pedestrian crossing areas and wheelchair ramps,’ Mr. McLean said. ‘Also within this effort are the provisions for the construction of public bathroom facilities, presently lacking in the capital.’
The streets and sidewalks will be cleaned on a daily basis by the new Madvac CN200 Compact Sweeper, which arrived on Grand Cayman last week.
‘It’s a very popular piece of equipment,’ Mr. McLean said. ‘It’s used worldwide and extensively in America. It’s very reliable.’
Although the government will take the lead in keeping the streets and sidewalks in George Town clean, Mr. McLean expects businesses to do their part.
‘I’m a little disappointed with the merchants in George Town,’ he said. ‘We paved the streets, but we need them to help keep the streets cleaned.’
The Madvac will clean the streets as well as the sidewalks where it can manoeuvre. Mr. McLean explained that some of the sidewalks were public and some were private.
‘We can do the streets and help with the sidewalks, also,’ he said.
However, Mr. McLean said it was up to the business owners in George Town to ensure the area around their locations remain clean.
Bodden Town MLA Osbourne Bodden asked Mr. McLean if the trucks transferring cement from the George Town dock were still spilling materials on the roads in George Town.
‘There are some problems with trucks in George Town, especially those that transfer aggregate,’ Mr. McLean responded. ‘I’ve impressed on them the need to do it in a proper manner. They have paid much more closer attention to it since then, and by and large, when they spill something now, they will clean it up.’
Mr. McLean said a review of the Traffic Law is under way and the issue of holding trucking businesses accountable for cleaning up materials spilled on public roads was being addressed.
‘[The law review is] also addressing the damage caused by these trucks because the roads are not built for the kind of weights of these trucks,’ he said.
George Town MLA Lucille Seymour asked if anything was going to be done about removing chewing gum from the sidewalks in town.
Mr. McLean said a steam machine on the Madvac would be used to lift chewing gum off the pavements.
Pedestrian accessibility will be improved by installing wheelchair ramps and guardrails on all sidewalks along many streets in George Town, Mr. McLean said.
‘Some corrective repairs and new sidewalks will have to be installed to ensure that all sidewalks are fully functional.’
Other initiatives to beautify George Town outlined by Mr. McLean include washing and repairing public buildings on a regular basis; installing shade structures, trees and benches; erecting art installations promoted through public-private partnerships; and upgrading the signage along the main streets to a more aesthetically pleasing style.
‘This will also include working with the Planning Department to ensure all other signage installed along the main streets meet the planning requirements,’ Mr. McLean said.
The area around the George Town Clock will also be improved with the installation of concrete pavers and protective bollards ‘to improve the aesthetics and to transform this area which has historically been used as a parking lot into a more dignified area.’
Related Videos
