Letter: Better access to beach and water needed for disabled

To the editor:

One of the things I love most about North Bay is the lake and the beautiful beaches.

I live within a short 5-minute drive to the lake and the boardwalk; and in the summer, I try to go there several times a week. But it's definitely not the experience I thought I would have when I moved here 3 years ago; as I cannot access the beach and the water....I can only longingly look at it.

You see, I'm 80 years old and I walk with a cane or a walker.

My first summer here, I was so looking forward to swimming, so I packed up everything I would need for a day at the beach: a sun umbrella, a folding chair (I'm not able to get up from the ground), a small cooler with lots of drinks and snacks, a towel....well, I think you get the picture. I also loaded a shopping cart into the trunk of my car, so I could move all these necessities from the parking lot.

It was a quiet mid-week day, and I easily found a handicapped parking spot. After loading the shopping cart, I started walking toward the beach with my cane in one hand, and the loaded cart in the other. I knew it would be difficult but I was determined.

The shortest route from the parking lot to the beach is across the grassy area in front of the bandstand. But by the time I reached the other side, I was exhausted and I could go no further. Luckily, I found a partially shaded spot in the bushes, where I set up the chair and rested.

I could see the beach and the inviting cool water, but I couldn't reach it. I realized that it would be impossible for me, on my own, to walk up toward the road and then across another grassy area just to reach the top of the beach. And even if I could manage that, how would I be able to cross the sand to reach the water? Mission Impossible!

The next summer, I read that the City had installed a beach mat that people in wheelchairs and those with strollers could use to traverse the sand. But again I was disappointed to see how far I would have to walk to access that mat. As far as I was concerned, the water was still inaccessible to me.

No longer a strong swimmer, I wanted to swim where there was a lifeguard. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And against my best judgment, I drove to the tiny beach at the bottom of Marshall. At least there, I could easily park, and manage the few steps to the water....where there was even some shade.

After setting up my chair, I started to wade into the water, only to discover that the wind had come up, and with it, the waves. Disappointed, I turned to walk back toward the shore, lost my balance and fell on my left elbow.

I struggled to shore by crawling and sat awhile before attempting to stand and get everything back into my car. Driving home, my arm started throbbing and I realized that I had seriously injured it, so I drove to the hospital where I waited 12 hours to have the broken elbow set.

I'm sharing all this with you, dear reader, because the City spent upwards of $10,000 for a sand mat that isn't and cannot be used by the people it was intended for....unless, they have an electric wheelchair or scooter.

1) The handicapped parking is too far from the beach. Why do the maintenance trucks have parking spots adjacent to the beach, but people with handicapped parking need to "walk" a long way from the parking lot?
2) The sand mat is located, not next to the roadway where it would be more easily accessible, but no, it's another long "walk" just to reach the top of it.

Having to content myself with sitting among the bushes for a bit of shade and watching with great longing at the swimmers, I have never seen one single handicapped person use that mat.

So, did the City Council buy it and install it for those it was intended for, or was it all "a show" of making the beach and the water accessible to everyone? This is exactly what happens when there is no effort made to gain insight into the real problems with accessibility.

Obviously, making the beach more accessible requires more than a sand mat; it requires nearby handicapped parking spots, and a smooth walkway, without obstacles, from that parking to the sand mat which would then require a lot more work than merely purchasing it!

Carolyn Peters

North Bay