Mr. Alee Fa'amoeDespite the lack of a public safety service prevalent elsewhere on the island, the objections of some local residents have led to
Beach Payphones Foiled
Efforts to install public pay telephones in the parking lot across from the popular Smith's Cove Public Beach continue to meet stiff opposition by many residents of the area.
Mr. Alee Fa'amoe
If installed, these telephones could provide
a method for getting emergency assistance for injured or otherwise
distressed residents or tourists.
Late last year, numerous written objections to the Central Planning
Authority (CPA) regarding the application by Cable & Wireless
for permission to install the public phones led to rejection of
the request. A similar application made several years ago met
the same fate.
Mr. Alee Fa'amoe, Head of Sales for Cable & Wireless, says he's been told directly by one of the people coordinating the opposition that area residents will continue to object to any such application made to the CPA.
Even so, Mr. Fa'amoe says his company still wants to install the telephones at the Smith's Cove location, primarily for safety reasons. He says a recent drowning death of the daughter of an employee of Cable & Wireless drove home the importance of having telephones in certain places. "We believe pay phones should be placed wherever significant numbers of people access the water," he says, "That includes boat-launching facilities as well as beaches."
Mr. Fa'amoe points out that public telephones are already installed at many public beaches, including the one on West Bay Road. Permission has also been granted to install a pay phone at the public beach in Cayman Kai, but technological difficulties with the location have delayed installation there.
While potential water-accident locations are "well covered" with pay phones according to Mr. Fa'amoe, Smith's Cove remains a glaring exception. Because of its remoteness to commercial development, having public telephones there is even more important. "There have been many cases at Smith's Cove where people looking for emergency assistance had to run from house to house looking for a telephone to call for help."
The primary basis for the objections of residents is concern over the "element of people" who would not only use telephones, but who would also habitually loiter in the area. The amount of littering that occurs at some payphone locations is another concern.
"Public telephone locations are used as social gathering points," said one prominent area resident who admitted vehemently opposing the Cable & Wireless proposal, "you should see the garbage that accumulates at some of the payphone locations bottles, cans, old phone cards, fast food wrappers who's supposed to clean that up?"
Mr. Fa'amoe concedes that litter is a problem at some payphone locations, but says "it's not prevalent at every location." He points out that there are ways of overcoming the problem. "In the past, we have seen that waste containers were placed at the sites and we've worked with the Department of Public Health to ensure regular disposal of the trash. We will also work with area land and business owners to resolve these issues."
Area residents say they don't need the telephones there in the first place. "Cable & Wireless told us that the phones are for people in the neighborhood," says one area resident, "Well, everyone in the neighborhood already has a phone."
Regardless of the nature of objections, Mr. Fa'amoe says Cable & Wireless will continue to push for the installation of the telephones. "In my mind, and in the minds of my company, public telephones are a necessary safety feature at Smith's Cove," he says, "We feel we'd be remiss as citizens if we didn't pursue this. None of the objections we've heard are important enough to override the safety of life issue."
While some South Church Street area residents see the telephones as "just a moneymaking endeavor for Cable & Wireless," Mr. Fa'amoe says this is simply not true. "This is not a revenue concern," he says, "pay phones do not generate huge amounts of revenue. Plus, they are expensive to install, and expensive to maintain."
One compromise that area residents suggested was the installation of a telephone at the site that would only dial 911. This would provide emergency service to people in need without the attending problems.
"An emergency telephone is one option we can pursue, but that is something that would have to be worked out with Government," says Mr. Fa'amoe, "The number of possible crank or accidental calls from such a phone is a real concern for the 911 people."
Not every local resident objects to the installation of public phones at Smith's Cove. "Pay phones are everywhere else on the island," said another prominent area resident, "Why shouldn't they be at Smith's Cove, too?"