Activists plan further West Bay Road protests
(CNS): As work on the new section of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway gathers and the section by-passing the stretch of West Bay Road that government proposes to close nears completion, local activists are planning another protest. Although the main agreement of the ForCayman Investment Alliance between Dart and government has not yet been signed or the final details revealed, speculation is mounting that the road closure is imminent. However, with the appointment of a new minority government, which has no back-bench support and is dependent on the goodwill of the rest of the Legislative Assembly to pass legislation, it is not clear how far the new Cabinet will now go before the May election with the still largely secret deal.
Protestors said Monday that the rally against the closure of the West Bay Road will take place on Saturday 12 January just north of Tiki Beach from 2pm until 5pm. Local MLAs as well as members of the various activist groups campaigning to preserve the stretch of road are scheduled to appear. In addition, older Caymanians will give a historical perspective on the importance of the road to them and the community, organisers stated.
For more details and numbers for transport please see flyer below.
Category: Politics
I will be there.
Too late bobo you’ll believe in keke, so now you see who or what keke loves more than his country, $$$$$! Vote him in again to highly educated one from wb!
Braca
These protesters are a very vocal minority on these two issues. Thankfully!
Can we also petition to remove Austin Harris as a talk show host he was most disgraceful to the guests on his talk show on Wednesday 9 January 2013. Austin Harris should also ban Dr. Frank as he did the Jordanian as the good docta calls way too much to further his politics. Austin you need to give an apology to Ms. Seymour because you were way over the edge. I beg that CNS would publish this post because I tried to call the radio station to get my opinion across to Mr. Harris but was unable to. Mr. Austin Harris went far over the edge and it was not just a heated discussion it was basically rude and disgraceful on the part of Austin. The two minute rule should also apply to Austin because he is like a run away freight train with that microphone at Rooster, he does not even allow Gilbert to talk who make so much sense than he does.
I heard up to the point where Austin said that he felt the questions by Ms. Lucille, asking if Austin himself was a potential candidate in the 2013 elections, were (cant remember the exact term he used) uncalled foror disrespectful toward him or attacking his integrity, and he went on to say that when people cant attack the message they attack the messenger.
I thought Austin's reaction to her question was over the top, why get so flustered at such a simple question, all he had to say was no, or he was still thinking about it and move on. His reaction was as if he'd got caught with his pants down LOL!
They were discussing the picture of one man giving an elderly woman something, a gift or prize i believe, and Austin wanted to discuss the perception of such. Well, what about the perception of a politician giving their spouse any gift, should we then charge the politician and spouse with corruption?
Alva said we have to use our discretion with this whole gift-giving and vote-buying discussion and accusations, which i totally agree with.
Alva also asked Austin his opinion on whether, at the C4C meeting, in which Austin was the emcee, if the food and snacks offered to the guests were in Austin's opinion vote-buying – all now Austin has not given a straight answer.
Austin remember, those in glass houses should not throw stones.
Agreed. This is done deal.
Yes! Finally this district will be cut off from the mainland and we can begin clearing out these trashy ghettos. Honestly, west bay is the biggest dump i've ever seen. Shameful that these slums even exist in cayman
I am so glad we are together on this! I will be there and I am bringing friends! See you all Saturday, Jan.12, 2013.
save a road…???….cayman is doomed…..
Dummy, it's not about a road. It's about saving access to a large part of seven mile beach and crown land and concessions being given away to a big developer without any negotiation.
Building so many roads smack against the beach was a dumb idea even in the 60's when you started doing it.
Then why have they done so in Brazil where there is no development on the beach side of a road, only kiosks? All of the hotels are on the land side of the road so that EVERYONE can enjoy the beach view.
Ummmm, Brazil doesnt get hurricanes every other year either. Also the roads on that stretch of road are unprotected by concrete sidewalks so water just gets under it and lifts it up.
No one is saying that you will lose the beach, just the view from a car. I can still get out and walk the beach and enjoy much longer.
The precedent for beach side construction has already been set. Almost all of our hotels are on the beach. The road closure allows the developer to offer easy beach access to its guests just like every other hotel in Cayman. It also allows hotels to be built on the beach where it would have been intersected by road, ie north of Tiki Beach.
On one hand, I hear people lamenting the cruise ship passengers as cheap and undesirable and saying how we need more stayover tourism and then in the same breath say that they dont want to close the road to open the way for more high end hotels and tourists. Please make up your mind as you cannot have both, atleast not in your lifetime.
I am all for nostalgia but not at the cost of my childrens future. We need things happening now for everyones sake.
Which is what should have been done here. But, alas, the horse is out of the barn.
No to the road closure and a future all inclusive resort, where locals will eventually be sidelined.
Buy an island somewhere else
It's not the protesters who joined the BT Dump with the WB road. That is the package presented by the "Alliance". It's All or Nothing. (unless we alter the deal.)
Yes, i remember Mrs. Doak on Rooster talk show saying that if one of the elements of the (NOT) For Cayman Inv Alliance deal was taken out, then the "deal" would not go through – basically all or nothing from Dart's point of view.
If it is all or nothing, how can it be a "For Cayman" deal? More like a For Dart deal if you ask me.
Not closing the road is a likely deal-breaker for the Cayman Alliance…..the issue is whether Cayman can cope without the FCIA…..if we think it can, then protest away and lie on the roads infront of the backhoes, etc all you want….i dont think many of us believe the deal is anything other than a prime ocean front land-grab by the dart group that will look fantastic on their accounting books, despite all the publc postering to the contrary….but, but, but….can we afford, in these times, to see dart stop investing? we may not like it….but maybe we need it? dart actually doesnt need to be doing the investment at all….he;s just doing it because he can…..equally, he could pull back all investments tomorrow….these guys have loopy amounts of money, this cayman investment is really a hobby..look at camana bay, and really ask yourselves how that makes any economic sense at all to anybody except a reclusive billionaire wanting a monument to himself…….it would be nice to get the dump sorted (although not in my back yard!)…..it would be lovely to see a few hotels built nearby the bridge thats not a bridge…..nobody else is going to do any of this for us…..
sometimes, you gotta hold your nose to enjoy the taste!
Dart is good for Cayman, does things to very high standards, making Cayman better in a lot of ways. they obviously have billions of dollars to play with – good for them. BUT our bumbling, corrupt, greedy clueless politicians were outfoxxed by the pros at Dart. they are a smart, cunning winner take all lot who got a sweetheart deal for themselves and Mr. Dart. Sure we know there is no free lunch and we need the hotel reopenned but listen to the people! Close the road from public beach to tiki beach not a foot more!!!!! Show us the independent review and prove that it is good for Cayman, not just good for Dart's balance sheet. Show the FIRST report from KPGM, not just the last one when y'all fixed all the lopsidedness. Paul, Ms. Alice Mae and Mervy – keep it up patriots!
The contract is invalid if the terms have not all been met including that the review needed to pass muster.
DART needs to go
I will be there and I will be taking note of the politicians and candidates who show up to support keeping the road open and the dump out of Bodden Town. I want to know where they stand. If it is in the shadows they will not get my vote in May.
What I can not understand is that the people of the island does not want the road to be closed. A road that has been part of this country’s history and shold rightfully be part of generations to come. Our politicians for the people are not listening and pushing forward for the closure and a swap which doesn’t seem fair, right, justly? Well then I call on Mr. Dart as a good corporate business on the island to cancel the closure of the road and the dump and lets work together to seek alternatives to the benifit of our heritage and future generations of these islands.
God save our Queen.
The local MLA’s were for the closure before. Are they now against it?
Let us ask them: ask Mark about his position on the dump closure and landfill relocation; ask Mac about the WB road closure; ask Ellio about the oil refinery…, wait, what happened to that anyway?
I think the road should stay open and our land not be given away….. But what a waste of time
When we finally get the sprockets right on the jet powered personal vehicles, we will close all the roads.
Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme. Our brand new west bay highway is almost finished – now let's concoct an anti-Dart protest (why else would they taint the purpose of this protest by bringing Bodden Town Dump into this?) so we don't have to feel guilty driving on it in the decades ahead. This is like some kind of wierd absolution crisis, only the cruel irony is that their protest will in fact obstruct their beloved thoroughfare before people can actually take the new highway to avoid them! Free refreshments for the elderly of Bodden Town, some of whom may be visiting West Bay Road for the first time!
Pot got no business in frying pan fight. I believe Bodden Town Dump need to stay off West Bay road. Or visa versus, Right?
Why? Cuz you say so? The two issues and entirely different…with ONE key similarity. They both affect CAYMANIANS. Forever, we have griped about the issues in our homes, behind closed doors and in private. Caymanians have been criticised for being too passive and uninvolved.
NOW they stand up. NOW they band together on the issues and you suggest that they keep the issues from touching each other on the plate…!?!? Wha fah!?!? Get it all out there. Mash it up and mix it up! Kill the birds with a stone man. These Caymanians are paying for this out of their own pockets. Why would they not consolidate costs and use a single platform with their collective investments to champion all of the causes that are pertinent at the moment? Cuz you think it should be done differently?
Sorry, are you putting money into this? What are YOU doing to help? Have you been on the strategy committees? Offering input? No? Then please sit down. We don't need backseat drivers here now. You had your chance to speak up and if this is what you choose to say at this point in the game, you are wasting your time and breath.
Please just show up and listen. Learn something. Engage brain and disengage mouth!
Learn to spell if you must use Latin phrases. It's vice versa.
Dingbat – they couldn't care less about the road BEING built. Let Dart, NRA, government go right ahead and do that!
They are protesting the closure of the WB Road. Period. THAT has not been done and there is still time for them to save it.
It is not by chance that they are limiting traffic on the road before you can take thebypass to avoid it – DUH! What would be the point THEN?!?!?
Feel the aggravation and irritation of stymied traffic and longer than normal commute. It'll make you stop and think for a minute on the issue. If you could bypass it then you wouldn't even consider a thought on it. That's the point of a protest!! To be uncomfortable.
The BT effort ties in as Caymanians are finally joining forces on issues that matter to Caymanians and banding together to fight each other's battles. Numbers, man – it's all about numbers.
If you don't like it, then leave. I am sick and tired of hearing ignorant people lambast and ridicule Caymanians WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTEST IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY!!! What exactly do people in your country do when they've had enough?! Not every bit of development and soul-selling is condoned by the natives. THEY and they alone should have the say in the future of THEIR country. Because expats come and go and so do politicians! But the average Caymanian is stuck with the dumbass decisions of the lot – – – for generations.
Ugh! If, however, you are Caymanian – I am truly worried about the future of Cayman at the hands of the narrow minded and short sighted. For you it is all about gimme gimme…!
Dart combined the dump issue and the WBR closure in one package that he sold to Mac.