A lot of people dont recognise our heritage until is gone; or spoilt. We cant preserve every church, every piece of old transport, every pub or every bit of open space but we must preserve the Isle of Mans most important assets. Most of use one of the very best promenades in the British Isles every day. Douglas Promenade is utilised throughout the year by residents, by holiday visitors and by business visitors. It is used by young and old, able and handicapped, groups and individuals by the happy and the sad. It is used whether it is hot or cold, wet or dry and it doesnt matter if the winds are storm force or non-existent it is in use. The word promenade has been in use for more than 400 years to define a place where people walk in a public place. Douglas Promenade is not just used for walking but it has an every day mix of roller skaters, runners, cyclists, joggers, dog exercisers, children learning to ride bikes, wheel chair users, people just gazing out to sea, people walking to work and people eating their lunch. Forget the town square overlooking the extractor fans from a fast food outlet. We have the best used and most versatile piece of community land anywhere on the Isle of Man right in front of our noses. It has been corrupted by allowing car parking on a few extra days every year, by oil spillage when used by the fair and by a few intolerant people not respecting other users. Unlike the majority of the population I participated, four years ago, in the consultation about the development of the promenade. I favoured positioning the horse trams alongside the pavement. Until this morning I thought that was where they were going to go. If the horse trams go on the seaward side of the gardens there will be an accident, there will be a horrible mess from the horse muck and there will signs all over the place telling users of the promenade what they can and cannot do. The freedom for families to use the space in whatever way they like to enjoy will be gone and the encroachment to a priceless piece of Manx heritage and of the Manx community will be gone. I urge people to stop fighting lost causes and preserve what we have now.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 19:41:44 +0000
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