Rehabilitation Work to Begin Soon on Maverley Park

Rehabilitation work is expected to begin on the Maverley Park in St. Andrew in August.

The park, located at the intersection of Molynes Road and Washington Boulevard, is one of several facilities being upgraded by the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC).

Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams, told JIS News that Phase One will begin in August.

“We would be re-fencing the entire park and putting in trees, and then we will complete the park in Phase Two,” Mayor Williams said.

He pointed out that amenities installed at the park would be similar to those in Emancipation Park, in New Kingston.

“We also want it to be a sustainable park, environmentally friendly, with the use of solar for lighting,” he said, adding that rainwater harvesting systems will also be installed at the facility.

Mayor Williams said that the KSAMC is seeking to encourage park use by designing them with open spaces and walkways, so that children can play and persons can participate in physical activities, such as walking or jogging.

“We’re also encouraging community events, it could be a community party, it could be just a community meeting; you could go there; it’s an open space. You could put up a tent, put chairs, and use it. You want your community spaces to be used,” he argued.

The Mayor stressed the importance and the need for citizens to participate in physical activities, noting that data in other cities, especially in low-income communities, is showing that persons do not exercise as often as they should.

“So, that is something we’re looking at, because the health burden of not exercising and not pursuing a healthy lifestyle, the burden of that will become onerous on the municipality and the country,” he added.

The Minister emphasised that it is very important “that our population and our residents exercise, that we can avoid that burden in the future. So, that’s part of what we do in our planning”.