BEDC Holds America’s Cup Public Meeting
Progress at Dockyard, water and land based transportation plans and potential business opportunities for the 35th America’s Cup were among the many subjects covered at the recent public meeting held at Sandys Secondary Middle School auditorium.
More than 100 area residents, business owners and services providers heard presentations from the ACBDA, Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] and the Sandys Parish Council as the West End begins to gear up for hosting next year’s America’s Cup.
“We wanted to get people up-to-date with what’s already going on in the West End like the South Basin infill, the opening of the West End Endeavour Fort and the three America’s Cup team bases that are now in operation,” says, Mike Winfield, CEO ACBDA. “We also wanted to share the outline of the transportation plan that has being developed by our transportation committee.”
These details included and overview of the park and ride programme planned to help manage traffic flow in and out of Dockyard during the event and also the use of Bermuda’s waterways to limit the impact on the roadways.
“We want as many people as possible to come to the Event Village by water, reducing the traffic burden on the roads,” says Brian Gonsalves, Chair of the ACBDA Transportation Committee. “This is certainly going to create opportunities for entrepreneurs and we discussed some of those possibilities.”
For these and other opportunities the audience was reminded of the services and support that BEDC continues to offer to small and medium sized businesses.
“We have worked in partnership with the America’s Cup Event Authority [ACEA] and the ACBDA to ensure widespread access to opportunities as they arise and we look forward to continuing that relationship,” says Jamillah Lodge, BEDC Information Education & Communications Officer.
“It was also very helpful to hear from some of the vendors who took part in last October’s World Series event. We can learn a lot from their experiences last year that will help us plan for 2017.”
Representatives from the Sandys Parish Council [SPC] combined their AGM with this public meeting and took the opportunity to provide an update on the accomplishments of the Parish Council over the past year a highlighting some of the opportunities that the community can get involved in to help ready the West End.
SPC Chairperson, Tonetta Spring shared that 4 Educational Bursaries had been awarded to Sandys residents studying abroad, encouraging students to apply for this year’s bursaries online using the Bermuda Scholarships website.
She noted that there will be a wine tasting fundraiser specifically for bursaries that will be held on April 22nd from 7-9 pm at Sandys Boat Club. Tickets can be purchased online at ptix.bm.
SPC member Karen Skiffington stated, “This will be an exciting time for the West End and we want to make sure the community is engaged and informed,’ says Mrs. Skiffington. “We look forward to working with the ACBDA and BEDC to make sure the West End is at its best for the America’s Cup and hope to see everyone at the upcoming wine tasting.”
