The RCIPS has announced in future they will be restricting the amount of road closures they approve to accommodate community events. In a recent press release they said it is “evaluating public procession and road closure requests in a more restrictive manner with respect to main arterial roads on the island, including the George Town waterfront.”

Presumably this was issued in response to the chaos in George Town last Wednesday (10) when the Cayman Islands Museum held a function on the waterfront outside their office for the benefit of the elderly.

I had known about the event for some time as it was publicized quite early and appeared on our Community Page. However, the fact it was being held outside and partly on Harbour Drive and South Church Street was not given out to us until the day before, Tuesday.

Although the event was planned from 3pm to 6pm the roads were shut to traffic from 7:30am until around 9pm.

It was absolute chaos in town but that wasn’t the only cause.

It happened to coincide with the part closure of Crewe Road with traffic being diverted along Linford Pierson Highway. Yes. Exactly the same day.

It is all very well the police looking at community events, but they should also look at the all the roadworks that are taking place in and around George Town at the same time and date.

All these planned roadworks should also be taken into consideration exactly the same as shutting down roads for community events.

Whilst Sunday is the day least travelled it is the day people go to church and Harbour Drive and neighbouring roads are constantly closed when people are not only trying to get to Elmslie but so are people attending the church denomination that uses the George Town Hall.

The RCIPS are making it clear that as a general rule it will no longer authorise the closure of main roads during peak hours on weekdays (7-9am and 4-7pm) for events. “Exceptions to this rule will be rare, especially with respect to road closure requests in the town centre of George Town,”

Of course the RCIPS press Release closes with the normal public servants gobble-de-gook:

“The RCIPS appreciates the value that public events bring, and will continue to facilitate these events whenever possible in order to foster a spirit of community and awareness of the many deserving causes on island. However, the RCIPS must also consider the inconvenience and delays to the general public road closures can cause, as well as the public safety hazards that congestion can also create on roadways.”

I even heard one of our ministers talk exactly like that when I asked her if she liked her new ministry over her previous one? I cut her off before she had finished and walked away in disgust.