New Jersey beaches are getting easier for wheelchair users to navigate, advocates say

By Gene Myers
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Verona resident Scott Cheseny, 52, fell in love with the Jersey Shore all over again after being away for decades following his loss of the use of his legs at 15 due to a stroke.
..... For years, he had difficulty navigating the sand with his wheelchair. His idea of heaven on Earth was unreachable.
..... For decades, wheelchair users had few options, as beach wheelchairs with wheels large enough to navigate sand were in short supply, advocates and families said. However, in recent years, beach accessibility has been improving, with many Jersey Short towns offering free beach and surf wheelchairs.
..... Thirty years after Chesney's last Share vacation, beach wheelchairs started popping up along the Jersey Shore.
..... Asbury Park, Cape may, Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Wildwood are listed as being among its most accessible towns, offering free beach and surf wheelchair that can be reserved, as well as accessible bathrooms, according to the accessibility blog Wonder Within Reach.
..... Island Beach State Park and Long Beach Island, however, both got dinged by the blog for offering beach wheelchairs but not surf chairs, which can go int the water.
..... Ralph Coscia, president of the Ocean County group Citizens Right to Access Beaches, started providing a free beach chair rental service to anyone who needed it in the early 2000s.
..... Cocoa agrees that accessibility at New Jersey beaches is getting better.
..... "Around 2010 to 2015, people started to get a little more involved and became mare aware of ADA access to beaches," Coscia said, referring to requirements included in the federal Americans with Disabilities act. Rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 gave towns another chance to improve accessibility.
..... Surf wheelchair users sit in a recumbent position between pontoons that serve both armrests and flotation devices. Chesney first noticed the chairs in 2004 in Asbury Park.
..... "The first time I tried it out I was with two other people with disabilities, and what was amazing was we all had different intentions," Chesney said. "Somebody just wanted to get to the beach for the first time, he was accommodated. the next one just wanted to put her feet in the water; she was accommodated. I wanted to go as far out into the ocean as possible and I was accommodated. It was amazing."
..... The "WaterWheels" chair was made by Mahwah-based AcessRec, founded by stroke survivor Sebastian Ragon a decade ago. The company also makes mats that can be sued to smooth rough terrain, such as sand. The municipalities along the coast are his customers, and his sales figures show a heartwarming trend.
..... "In terms of sales last year, [2022] we grossed almost $5 million, Ragon said. "We've almost doubled sales since 2017."
..... "Many beaches are becoming more accessible," Chesney said, with ramps that extend beyond boardwalks and fordable mates and decking to extend even a typical wheelchair's reach.
..... "These things weren't even heard of back in 1986. Your family had to carry you onto the beach," said Chesney, who has taken up surfing in recent years.
..... A fully accessible day a the beach would not include just a beach chair., a ramp and mats, but also a place to change, advocates said. Even an accessible bathroom doesn't do the trick when there's no place to sit up with your legs out in front of you while changing.
..... Want to give a beach chair a shot? You'll have to call around.
..... Start with the clerk of the town you'll be visiting, Regon said. If they are knowledgeable they'll send you to the department in charge of the beach equipment. Sometimes the lifeguards are in charge of the accessibility equipment. In some towns, it will be parks and recreation, and in others it's the Department of Public Works.
..... People can also call Citizens Rights to Access Beaches in Ocean County, if the town they are going to visit doesn't have a beach chair available.
..... Coscia's group has chairs it moves from beach to beach for anyone who makes a reservation. Although the organization has traveled outside of its county, mostly it stays between Point Pleasant beach and Lavallette.
..... The group is reachable at 732-361-2722 or by emailing CrabNJ@yahoo.com.

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