Beach towns push to be accessible to all

May 05--SOUTHEASTERN N.C. -- Beach trips for Kelly Kennedy don't usually involve the sand and surf that most take for granted. Kennedy's cerebral palsy makes it necessary for her to use a wheelchair -- equipment that is nearly impossible to operate on the beach.

But on Tuesday, the 38-year-old dipped her toes in the ocean at Wrightsville Beach, her journey to the water's edge made possible by a beach-friendly wheelchair owned by the town.

New Hanover County beach towns have made their shores more wheelchair-accessible in recent years, most notably with the big-wheeled chairs that glide easily across the sand. Katie Ryan, Wrightsville Beach'sParks & Recreation program supervisor, said the town received its first chair in 1999 and has since gotten more and better varieties.

"We have five and most of them are out the entire summer," she said.

Carolina Beach also owns eight of the chairs, and Kure Beach has five of its own. Eric Jelinski, Parks & Recreation director for Carolina Beach, said Americans with Disabilities Act-compliance was a priority for town leaders in the Boardwalk reconstruction, completed this year.

"We've had tons of good feedback on that," he said.

At their July 14 meeting, Carolina Beach Town Council members heard some of that feedback. Wheelchair-user Gregg Macey, visiting the beach from Vestel, N.Y., complimented the council on the accessible Boardwalk.

But Macey also asked the council to do more by purchasing beach access mats -- flexible but firm mats that roll onto the beach and allow regular wheelchairs to work on the sand.

"Beach access for people in wheelchairs is really the last frontier," Macey said during the meeting. "The maintenance of the chairs is questionable, not just here but everywhere. Every beach I've ever been to, they're just not taken care of. The mats would be really a huge improvement."

Jelinski said he spoke with Macey and is talking to vendors about the mats. He noted that the mats may not be feasible for Carolina Beach, where emergency vehicles need to drive on the sand.

"It's not within our budget right now, nor do I actually have the cost of the mats ... but I did reach out to the vendor and am waiting to hear back from them about how they would work here," he said. "We don't have anything per se in the works right right now, but we may in the future."

The town of Nags Head installed a beach access mat in 2009 and added another to Jennette's Pier in 2011. Nags Head resident Randy Holcombe, who uses a wheelchair and pushed the town to buy the mats, said without beach access people in wheelchairs don't have the impetus to visit North Carolina beaches.

"They come down here and spend $4- or $5,000 for a rental house and then watch their families play on the beach," he said. "They're worth the money, and it's a great way to make access."

On Tuesday, Ed Craig and Michael Posey of Greensboro stood on Wrightsville Beach with their friend Timothy L. Reeves Jr. Reeves has a developmental disability and made use of a beach wheelchair, something that Posey said keeps the group coming back to visit.

"If you're going to drive four hours to the beach, you might as well enjoy it -- touch the water," Posey said. "This would be impossible without the chair. ... It's essential for us to have a good time."

Contact Cammie Bellamy at Cammie.Bellamy@StarNewsOnline.com or 910-343-2339.

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