SORELL Council has been congratulated by ParaQuad Tasmania for installing beach access for people with wheelchairs and other mobility devices. In what is believed to be a first in Tasmania, beach access ramps have been installed at two popular locations in its municipality.
ParaQuad’s Accessible Tourism Officer Richard Witbruek said it was believed Sorell was the first council in Tasmania to deliver permanent access ramps that lead to the water’s edge – a “game changer for people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices’’.
The access has been installed at Park Beach and Carlton Beach.
“Before installing the ramps, Sorell Council contacted ParaQuad Tasmania to get advice on how best to improve accessibility,’’ Mr Witbruek said. “We talked to them about options, including beach matting, or a more permanent solution. We recommended any ramp should ideally take users to the hard sand at least.’’
Engineers from Sorell Council designed and produced the new ramps, first at Carlton, and most recently at Park Beach, which allow direct access from the carpark down to the water. Mr Witbruek said Council officers had gone above and beyond what was recommended.
Sorell Mayor Kerry Vincent said when Council was developing the route for the Dodges Ferry Carlton Loop it was apparent that there was a needed to incorporate the beaches.
“To ensure it was accessible for as many people in the community as possible we consulted with ParaQuad Tasmania. They made fantastic suggestions about what could be done and how we could make it work for people with differing levels of mobility,’’ Mr Vincent said.
“Once the route and beach access was established we also worked to ensure the onsite disabled parking was compliant and toilet signage implemented. These elements have really enhanced the beach accesses and made them much more widely accessible. “I’m proud of this work and we will continue to work with ParaQuad to ensure other elements of our recreation facilities are accessible too.”
Accessible parking is available next to the ramps.
“An accessible beach is not just about the ramp, it’s also having the appropriate car parking space and toilet facilities,” Mr Witbruek said. Kevin Faulkner, ParaQuad Tasmania’s Disability Sports Coordinator, is a local in the area and a wheelchair user who often heads to the beach.
He has tested and is impressed with the new facilities. “What’s good about this is that I can access the beach independently. I can get on to Carlton Beach and push all the way to Park Beach, and do it on my own if that’s what I want to do,” Mr Faulkner said.
“To see what Sorell Council has delivered is fantastic.”
A 2021 survey by ParaQuad Tasmania responded to by 40 people aged 18-80 (70 per cent of whom were manual or electric wheelchair users) found the biggest barriers to accessing a beach were lack of suitable ramps (82 per cent agreed) and difficulty getting to the sand (80 per cent).
Other factors were lack of suitable change and toilet facilities (56 per cent) and lack of accessible parking (51 per cent). It also found that if beaches were more accessible then respondents would enjoy activities like sitting on the beach (72per cent), spending time with family and friends (64 per cent) and swimming (59 per cent).