Two health professionals have voiced support for an idea to increase the number of sidewalks on the Island as part of efforts to give Bermuda a sustainable future by reducing the reliance on motorist transport to get around.

Traffic fumes and congestion are the most obvious negative impacts of a community heavily reliant on cars and motorcycles to get around.

But there is also the health impact on people no longer walking to shops or to visit friends because it is too dangerous to step out onto roads that have no pedestrian sidewalk. Bermuda's narrow roads are mostly bereft of sidewalks outside the city environs of Hamilton.

And the lack of sidewalks restricts and often dissuades people who would otherwise go out and exercise either by walking or running a few miles around the Island.

In the third section of the draft Sustainable Development Strategy, which is to be publicly discussed tomorrow evening at the BIU building, a suggestion to increase the number of sidewalks on the Island is put forward as one desirable option.

It mirrors a call by King Edward VII Memorial Hospital's clinical dietician Jasen Moniz, who believes the Island's obesity and diet-related health problems can be partially solved by such Government action.

Speaking in support of the idea, she said: "Today it is dangerous for our children to walk a short way on the road, so you can understand why parents put their kids in their cars to take them to the playground or school, because there is often no other safe way to go.

"We need a community that is pedestrian friendly rather than automobile friendly and it is not too late to change that. We need health to be part of the decision-making process."

And Cardiac Care Nurse Myrian Balitian-Dill said: "The health of the nation is determined largely by the people who plan a city and the roads. We should be able to walk from one side of a city to the other. We have a lot of expats who are used to doing a lot of walking and it should be possible to walk, for example, from Somerset to Hamilton along sidewalks.

"Outside of the Botanical Gardens there isn't really anywhere to walk. That creates a problem when we have a patient who needs to get walking exercise. There are people who are living in town and they have to be constantly aware of the traffic when they are walking, which is very discouraging."

She added: "Physical activity should be simple, it should be a case of 'let's go', it should not need to be planned out. It would also be a good idea if they looked at the policies regarding the size of the vehicles on our roads."

It has been suggested, in the draft document, that more be done to encourage the creation of sidewalks by incorporating into planning policy the requirement that developers of properties that border a major road should include a public sidewalk.

The document notes: "Throughout the developed world the lack of exercise is being linked to rising obesity and other health issues, which in turn is leading to increased healthcare costs.

"Increased traffic and Bermuda's narrow roads discourage walking, even short distances. This is less of an issue on minor roads, but major thoroughfares can be dangerous. It also adds to the urban, pressurised feel of Bermuda, making the Island a less attractive place.

"Large-scale compulsory purchases of land bordering the major roads would be difficult, however this piecemeal approach will lead to the creation of substantial lengths of sidewalk over time. In the future it may be necessary to develop a sidewalk strategy to link up various stretches of sidewalk."

Similarly it is suggested the Railway Trail and Tribe Roads be developed to link up to areas of public space "to create a green corridor along the length of the Island, linking existing and additional green spaces, allowing running, walking and cycling."

Moving the current composting process from Marsh Folly to allow the area to be reclaimed and turned into a large public park is a further proposal.

Clinical dietician Mrs. Moniz said: "We need more public playgrounds in Bermuda. I'd be thrilled if Marsh Folly was turned into a public park."