Public Works: Turn Marsh Folly into a Central Park (finally!)

TLDR: With plans underway to take horticultural waste elsewhere, Public Works should take on a scalable conversion of Marsh Folly into a public park to stimulate otherwise lost construction jobs, leaving a low-income area with significantly improved property values, Bermuda with a large recreational park (unbroken cycle and running lanes like Central Park), and a preventative healthcare initiative that gets more people outside.

Turning Marsh Folly into a park is a long-held dream for many over the past century. However, the stars are aligning in Bermuda to finally make it happen for the benefit of us all, and in particular the benefit of those neighborhood surrounding it.

Healthcare reform and waste infrastructure redevelopment are two initiatives the Bermuda Government are already undertaking. Alongside this is a challenging cost of living and wealth disparity. The following cover the general situation:

Healthcare:

• Bermuda is in a health crisis which is evident in cost of healthcare, overuse of services, health statistics and lack of preventative care (by individuals and society).
• It is sometime difficult and dangerous to exercise on our tight public roadways, and there aren't many alternatives.
• The Government needs to be seen making progress for the people towards a more sustainable healthcare future.

Waste Infrastructure:

• There is movement towards re-development of Tynes Bay into a more comprehensive and modern waste-to-energy plant, including the ability to take the volume of horticultural waste currently going to Marsh Folly.
• The dumping of horticultural waste at Marsh Folly is also a significant detriment to the water lens and ecology of this valley leading all the way to Mills Creek. As we all know - it also catches fire now and then!

Wealth Disparity

• Most homeowners in Bermuda are feeling financial pressure in the current economy – a significant number of whom are located in a single area North of Hamilton.

Public Works Economic Stimulation Projects:

• The Bermuda Government needs to find beneficial labour-based construction projects to spend on to keep the economy going. Scalability is key.

What do these have to do with each other?

Finally turn Marsh Folly into a public central park.

Why now and what will this do?

• Government is tackling healthcare costs, but preventative care through the promotion of exercise, getting outdoors and using open space is of equal importance. The Government need to be seen promoting better health and providing means to make it happen. No greater and simpler way to do so than creating a public park with exercise lanes (running, cycling) and workout stations.
• Note that there is no other place in Bermuda that has the potential to hold formal exercise routes away from congested and dangerous public roads – this should get support across the Island.
• Tynes Bay is already going to be converted to allow horticultural waste (plant waste), but could be accelerated through the use of a drying machine (allow it to start converting next year instead of a few years from now).
• Turning a waste dump into a public park in the middle of many lower-income neighborhoods and homeowners will immediately start raising the value of property and rentals in the area, and thus the wealth of North Hamilton, St. Monica’s and more.
• A Public Works project like this is also scalable: need to stimulate more? Create a longer paved running route. Need to scale back? Don't build that extra bathroom - at least now you have a fantastic park and green space.

This would also just make Bermuda a better place.