Accessibility Uncovered ♿: Accessible Beaches

[EmekaUlor]

Barrierless Beaches

As part of our advocacy, #OneAccessibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.

Rececently, a Local Guide wanted to know how open spaces  especially a beach can be accessible for wheelchair users. So, we thought to give some insight into this topic.Caption: Lekki Beach Lagos

Beaches are know for their white sands and wavy water. It's fun witnessing the ocean, land and sky come together at a particular location. More intriguing is the breeze and sunlight hitting your face.

For people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users, navigating the sands can be a huge problem. Most beach facilities do not have accessible trails right from the entry. Although a few may have dedicated parking but access to the water front or across the sught is uncommon.

This is one huge challenge facing persons with special needs as it prevents them from effectively enjoying tourism destinations across the world.

Beach managers can solve accessibility issues by making wide walk paths with carpets, solid sand, baked stones, or wooden materials. This enables wheelchairs to move smoothly without being clogged in sands.

Also, management may need to provide special purpose vehicles like all terrain wheelchairs that enables PwD move through the sandy beaches and into the water without any problem.Beach Wheelchair Photo Credit : California Coastal commission

Beach Wheelchairs have big and strong wheels which move across the sand without sinking. Some are manual while others are motorized. Manual beach wheelchairs require a personto push it while the automated can be controlled by the user.

These requires extra cost and commitment but at the long run, can  improve return on investment , as more able and differently able will patronize the beach thereby increasingly revenue.

Don't forget standard accessibility signs are important because they give firsthand information to users.

If you have a question, suggestion or contribution, feel free to comment below. Read last week's roundup here.

[Jesi]

Very nice and informative post @EmekaUlor. It would be great if what you mentioned what applied to every beach. The all terrain wheelchairs would make a big difference and bring a lot of happiness to the users, I think.

Thank you for sharing this week's #OneAccessibility post, and for always putting so much effort into the initiative 🙂

[PennyChristie]

Awesome wheelchairs for the beach. 

[Prodeep]

Thanks for sharing @EmekaUlor !

All terrain wheelchairs for differently abled is a good idea also for senior citizens on the beach, but would require funding to support the idea. Ideal for a startup enterprise to put them on hire across beaches, manual or motorized.

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[AbdullahAM]

That's an excellent wheelchair for the sea beach @EmekaUlor 

Thank you for sharing with us.

[MortenSI]

Hi @EmekaUlor,

Thanks for shining some light on this subject!

I think beaches are one of the top challenges for wheelchair accessibility. 

I really like the beach wheelchair with the big wheel, but you're right, it is expensive for the user, if they have to bring their own.

So far the most effective solution I've seen, was wood or concrete paths running all the way to the water. It will not give wheelchair users access to the entire beach, but will allow them to go all the way to the water in their own wheelchair.

Do you think more public beaches should invest in beach wheelchairs and then offer them to wheelchair users? 

[EmekaUlor]

@MortenSI  it will be fantastic to have these all terrain wheelchairs at all beaches across the world for free. Remember that an organization provides wheelchairs across airports worldwide. So it is possible to have these special purpose wheelchairs at tourist sites including water fronts like beaches 

[MortenSI]

You're right @EmekaUlor, it should be possible to do it the same way as in the airports. I have never seen these wheelchairs operate.

Are they easy to control by the user even through sand? 

[khadijazmalik]

excellent information! Beaches for sure are one of the main travel spot people like to go to, and it would be nice if they are accessible. Thank you for bringing awareness and trying to make a change!

[Patriciapraca]

Hello @EmekaUlor ! I loved your post. In my country, Portugal, we have a beautiful beach in the city of Lagos, the same name as yours. For a few moments I thought it would be there!

In fact Portugal have a Program called "Acessible beaches" and I made a Google Maps list for Madeira Island, where I live. You can see my list on here: https://goo.gl/maps/KwtTodbvHTw7dWcFA