Disabled Beach Access Exists Only On Paper

Recently I sprained my ankle stepping off stairs onto uneven ground. The doctor said I could run on the beach after two weeks but warned me against walking on variable surfaces like soft sand; if I rolled my ankle again, it would take even longer to heal. So Sunday morning I checked out one of the city's beach wheelchairs from Sandcastle Hotel to get to the ocean's edge. It did not go well.

First there was a parking issue. The hotel has no beach access parking and the parking lot was completely full, so we had to park on the street and walk for several minutes back to the hotel.

The process to check out a chair was straightforward: show ID and complete a Beach Wheelchair Liability Release form which includes a list of Rules, many with significant issues.

• Beach Wheelchair User is required to have an Attendant present at all times while in use.

• NO WATER ACTIVITY. This wheelchair is not to be pushed into the ocean. It is not a flotation device.

  • But it is a flotation device! The city purchased Mobi-Chair Floating Beach Wheelchairs designed for water use, not less expensive non-buoyant beach wheelchairs. This rule perversely prohibits users from directly accessing the ocean in chairs built for that purpose.

• Do not leave wheelchair or its occupant unattended.

  • This means that not only must a disabled person, who might be independent in a powered wheelchair, find someone to push them on the beach, that person or a third person must also stay with the chair rather than accompanying the disabled person in whatever activity they came to the beach to enjoy.

• Wheelchair safety belt must be worn at all times.

  • The safety belts was covered in sand and sticky with salt.

• No running while pushing the wheelchair, regardless if occupied or not.

• Always lock front wheels in place whenever wheelchair is stationary.

  • There is only one front wheel, not multiple wheels, and we could not find any way to lock it. The hotel staffer said they couldn't help and referred me to the city's website for instructions but there are none.

• No modifications are to be made to the wheelchair.

• User & Attendant's personal property will be stored at their own risk; City and Hotel assumes no liability for care.

  • Someone arriving with a walker or other assistive device but without a disabled parking permit would have no secure place to leave the device — although most hotels offer storage for guests' luggage  — so their assistant would need to return to perhaps a distantly-parked car to store it.

The hotel staffer did not provide directions to the beach and I had to go back into the hotel to ask. The route crossed a parking lot with no marked accessible path before reaching a sidewalk and then a ramp down to the beach.

The chair rolled well until we got to the sand. My husband is a tall strong man and I am a small fit woman, but he found it very difficult to push through the soft sand and had to stop for a couple breaks before we reached the hard packed sand near the water. Once there, without a way to actually lock any of the wheels, he had to turn the chair sideways and the front wheel perpendicular to mostly keep it from rolling while I got out. Then he had to wait by the chair while I did a short and successful test jog; he could not join me for a walk as hoped due to the Rules.

Then it was time to make the long slog back across soft sand. After a couple of breaks, my husband was getting worn out, and I told him I'd try to walk the rest of the way if he'd support me. There was one close call with my ankle but we made it safely to pavement, and he returned for the chair.

I had hoped that the city's beach wheelchairs would allow me to return to more regular runs on the beach, but now I'll have to wait until my ankle fully heals and is stable enough not to risk another roll while crossing soft sand. The beach wheelchair program exists on paper but doesn't work on the sand.

And there is a solution that would help more people more of the time: beach access mats such as Mobi-Mats or AccessMats. These mats allow wheelchair users to independently access the beach and ocean in their own chairs, no attendant needed, and they also enable soft sand crossing by people using canes and walkers, parents pushing kids in strollers, runners recovering from sprained ankles, and many other beachgoers. Five years ago, a young Shell Beach resident tried to get the city to bring in these accessible pathways so she could access the ocean in her wheelchair, but the city merely pointed to its existing beach wheelchair program.

When I asked recently, the city said the mat option was considered but dismissed "due to the large fluctuation in tides, as well as the maintenance required to keep the sand off of the mats regularly." Devices like Mobi-Rollers to roll and unroll the mats, coupled with seasonal installation if needed, could address both of these concerns.

Accessible beach mats are in use on about 20 California beaches, including Ventura's Harbor Cove, Zuma Beach, Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, Seal Beach, Encinitas and multiple locations in San Diego.

Directly addressing the city's stated concerns: "The City of San Diego provides access to the sand with accessible beach mats in nine city beach and Mission Bay locations. The mats are available from May through September. The mats are not used in the winter, early spring and fall due to tidal action, high surf and blowing sand conditions prevalent in those times, making them unsafe to use and the possibility of damage of the mats due to those conditions." (See Beach Access Locations.)

While canvassing, I mentioned the idea of an accessible beach mat to a resident who came to the door slowly, using a walker. She said, "That would be wonderful. I haven't been to the beach in years!"

As mayor, I'd bring ADA-compliant portable beach walkways back for consideration. It's past time to make our city's beach accessible for all.