By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority yesterday installed the country’s first Mobi-mat Disabled Mat at Goodman’s Bay, giving wheelchair users and others with mobility challenges safe access to the shoreline for the first time.

Executive Chairman McKell Bonaby said the initiative will be expanded to three more beaches in New Providence by the end of the year — Saunders Beach, Montagu and Long Wharf — before extending to Family Islands.

The mats, which cost between $8,000 and $12,000 each to install, are designed to provide durable, eco-friendly access without disturbing the natural environment.

Mr Bonaby said Exuma, Andros, Cat Island and Eleuthera are among the Family Islands slated to benefit first. “We’re not going to limit ourselves. We want to get to every single beach, but we know that it has to be done in a phased approach, and in order to make that happen, reelect the Progressive Liberal Party so that we can continue the work that we’ve been doing and you’ll be sure that the mandate that we started will continue,” he said.

He said usage rates and heavy traffic by Bahamians and tourists determined which beaches were selected first. “We want to provide access to everyone,” he said. “Where you come from doesn’t matter. Your skin colour doesn’t matter. We just want you to have access if you have experienced challenges in the past.”

Charlotte Albury, president of the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled, called the launch long overdue and praised the government for turning “a dream into reality.”

“You are not just laying a path to the water. You are opening doors to joy, to freedom and to the simple beauty of life in the Bahamas,” she said, adding that accessibility must be treated as a right, not a privilege.

Minister of Works Clay Sweeting said the mat demonstrates the government’s commitment to inclusion.

“Wheelchair users, parents with strollers have not been able to fully enjoy them,” he said. “So today, with the installation of the Mobi-mat, we are breaking down barriers. We are saying clearly that our beaches are open for everyone, and that this eco-friendly, durable pathway made from recyclable materials offers safe and easy access without disrupting the natural environment.”

Mr Sweeting described the initiative as “a giant leap” that proves small interventions can transform lives.