(CNS): After years of dusty, disruptive roadworks, millions of dollars in public cash, numerous changes, delays, and the loss of several businesses, the George Town Revitalization Initiative is almost complete, according to a planning ministry release. As the end is in sight for the GTRI, which is effectively the partial repaving of three streets and the addition of some street furniture, saplings and other features, most roads in George Town’s business district are finally open.
Edward and Main Streets reopened Monday, which the release said was a “milestone”, marking the near completion of the project.
However, the costly and frustratingly long, drawn-out period, which has reportedly seen more than 55 changes to the original plans, has been too much for several small cafes and shops. Regardless of the ultimate goal of the GTRI to make the capital more pedestrian-friendly, a number of small businesses were unable to endure the years of massively reduced footfall.
It has also caused traffic chaos in the capital for the last five years. The project was delayed once again this month because of a tsunami warning. Although the warning lasted for no more than a couple of hours last weekend, it shelved the work for another week.
The release said there is still more work to do on “traffic flow improvements” after utility poles at the Shedden Road/Main Street and Edward Street/Shedden Road intersections are removed.
“The Ministry of PAHITD and GTRI appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation throughout this project,” the ministry stated in a release. “The revitalization of George Town marks a major milestone in modernising the capital, fostering a pedestrian-friendly, vibrant, and accessible town centre that supports businesses and residents alike.”
However, some believe the entire project has done nothing but add to the capital’s traffic woes, put people out of business and turned George Town into a ghost town, with major works going on over Christmas that hit shops in the area even harder than usual.
A report published Tuesday in the Cayman Compass by James Whittaker said the project was supposed to breathe life into the capital. Instead, business owners say it is choking them out, and many are seeking compensation for their loss of profit, for which they blame the mismanagement of this lengthy and disruptive project with very little benefit.
Various business owners who have clung on through the years of work and watched their business decrease by as much as 60% told Whittaker that the problem in George Town is not how it looks but the lack of parking.
According to the ministry, there are close to 15,000 concreted parking spaces in George Town, but most of them are off-limits to regular drivers and sit empty all day long. The spaces are part of inappropriate and outdated planning regulations that the government has failed to address, which require every building to have excessive amounts of parking even when the office blocks they serve have few guests.
Meanwhile, many of the retail stores and other small businesses in the centre of town barely have one parking spot each, and in recent weeks, the construction staff working on the project have even taken those spots.
Despite their complaints about the disruption, the dust, the parking issues, and their loss of business as a direct result, those who spoke to the ministry told Whittaker that they were offered no apologies and their concerns were dismissed.
