Lugging beach toys, chairs and umbrellas can be a struggle in itself but, can you imagine the difficulty of trying to pull a wheel chair through the sand? News 13’s Peyton LoCicero tells a South Walton access has a new way for all people to make it to the water’s edge.
The Ed Walline Beach Access here in Santa Rosa Beach is now fully accessible to people with disabilities. Stretching 5-feet wide and extending 120-feet down to the Gulf, these beach mats will allow easy access for everyone to reach the beach.
“The big idea behind this is that even if you have someone in your family that has a hard time getting around, whether that is with a walker or a wheelchair, we don’t want them to miss out on the beach,” explained David Demarest, Visit South Walton.
“This actually affords someone the opportunity to come down to the flat part of the beach and enjoy the sand and same view that everyone else gets to view,” said Josh Ervin, Walton County TDC Beach Maintenance Manager.
South Walton has a number of beach locations that are ADA accessible, but it only allows access to the end of the board walk.
“This area because of the ramp we have going down to the beach and because of the parking we have at the top is already very friendly for people with mobility issues so it made sense to enhance what we had here,” said Demarest.
South Walton already has a limited number of wheelchairs that are designed for rolling across soft sand. The access mats allow beach visitors in regular wheelchairs to roll out to the sand without having to change chairs.
“Essentially, what they are made of is plastic. And what that plastic does is provides a decking surface if you will that allows a regular wheel chair or any mobility device to access the beach,” explained Ervin.
The $5,000 project was completely funded through the Tourist Development Tax collections from the Tourist Development Council. The mission behind this project is to continue to help everyone enjoy South Walton’s 26 miles of beach. Walton County beach officials said they have plans to add more mats at other locations in the future.
