Vision - "Free Wifi" for Cayman Parks
Published on Aug 30, 2016
In an initiative intended to foster more community interaction and aid communications accessibility, former George Town MLA Ellio Solomon is in the process of providing free password-protected WiFi capabilities to several downtown community parks.
It was while he first served in the Legislative Assembly, 2009 – 2013, that Mr Solomon became aware of the need for refurbishment and enhancement of parks in the George Town area.
“Public parks serving members of the community in their immediate area can provide a valuable venue for a neighbourhood’s coming together, interaction and neighbour-helping-neighbour efforts,” Mr Solomon said in announcing the additional amenity of WiFi service.
This free password-protected facility will be made available to local residents in the immediate area surrounding the parks being upgraded, starting with Windsor Park, he explains.
Assuming Windsor Park, the test model, proves successful, and also assuming the neighbours of other areas believe there is a genuine need for such accessibility, additional parks, including Washington Boulevard, and “Central Park” (behind Funky Tang’s) may be given consideration, according to Mr Solomon, himself a George Town resident.
Mr Solomon and his wife, Betsy, the parents of three children, are supporting the cost of the service out of their own pocket as a community service, but he also acknowledges the cooperation of FLOW for offering the project a discounted rate and providing the necessary infrastructure.
While undertaking this park enhancement project on his own initiative, the former MLA says he would welcome additional private sector participation to enable a broader effort to be made in this regard.
“Public parks can, and should be, the very core of a community, where neighbours gather to discuss the day’s events, children can play under watchful parents’ eyes, and schoolchildren can sit together and do their daily homework and be in touch with their parents, with the help of complimentary internet access,” he explained.
When Mr Solomon first came to public office following the 2009 election, he was disappointed to learn that area parks had fallen into disrepair and, as a result, were often unused, or worse, abused. It is his belief that through enhancement of the facilities carried out at that time, such as the installation of safe playground equipment, cabana structures and shade-providing trees, that now, with WiFi access, more neighbourhood residents will want to avail themselves of the benefits of the open park space, utilising it more often for wholesome community affairs and family events while taking pride in its appearance to the benefit of all in the neighbourhood.
“All too often, teen-agers complain that ‘there is nothing to do’,” explained Mr Solomon.
“By offering them modern park facilities with up-to-date communications services, that excuse no longer holds water,” he said.
Also, he added, “It’s said ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and that, indeed, was the way of Cayman of old. Now we can return to that basic concept, but with a modern twist, for the benefit of the residents of these inner-city areas, some of whom might not otherwise have the opportunity.”
Mr Solomon hopes that once the requisite infrastructure is in place, and the service goes “on-line”, which he expects to be accomplished in the very near future, that a celebration will be held to officially inaugurate the service in Windsor Park, to which all neighbourhood residents will be invited.
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