San Diego Gets More Power Beach Wheelchairs
Bonnie cruises Mission Beach in a motorized beach wheelchair
Photo courtesy of Bonnie Lewkowicz
San Diego beaches are about to get a little bit more accessible to slow walkers and wheelchair-users, thanks to a $313,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy. The money will be used by Accessible San Diego to add power beach wheelchairs to Coronado City Beach, Oceanside City Beach and Silver Strand State Beach.
Each beach will get three power beach wheelchairs that will be available for free loan to people with a mobility disability. Accessible San Diego will use the grant money to purchase the wheelchairs, train city staff to use them and to publicize the program to visitors and residents. Unlike manual beach wheelchairs, these motorized beach chairs allow wheelchair-users independent access to the beach.
Accessible San Diego also publishes a print access guide to San Diego. It is available for $5 from Accessible San Diego by calling 858-279-0704.
For general tourism information about the San Diego area, visit the San Diego Convention and Visitors bureau website at www.sdcvb.org.
And for more information about accessible beaches and lodging options in San Diego, read Bonnie Lewkowicz's excellent article ("Hit the Beaches in San Diego") in the Winter 2008 issue of Emerging Horizons