Cape May to Make Beaches More Handicapped Friendly

CAPE MAY — The city is making a concerted effort to allow disabled persons to have better beach access including proposed removable boardwalks to the waterline and platforms with tables and umbrellas near the dune line.
City Council passed three resolutions at an Oct. 21 meeting to apply for grant funding to allow more beach access under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One resolution authorized a professional services agreement with grant consultants Blauer and Associates for $1,500 plus a 4 percent fee if the city receives the funding.
The other two resolutions authorized applying to the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for grant funding.
The city received $383,000 in funding last year for the first phase of the project to improve access from Beach Avenue onto the Promenade and to create decking from the Promenade to the dune line, said Interim City Manager Bruce MacLeod.
The next phase of the project would create removable walkways from the dune line to the water’s edge, the high tide line. The city will apply for $353,000 in grants.
MacLeod said 40-foot by 40-foot decks would be constructed closer to the dune line, which give those in wheelchairs a place to rest with a table under an umbrella. There will be no chairs available so the general public does not use the decks, which are intended for the disabled and those in wheelchairs.
Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. described the work as a multi-year project.
The mayor said after meeting with individuals and family and friends of those that need extra accommodation to access the beach it was apparent that just getting a person to the dune line was not sufficient because of their distance from the ocean.
Mahaney said the city would outfit four beaches this year and four additional beaches next year. The city’s Beach Patrol currently has 15 surf chairs for the disabled, which will be increased to 20 next year.
The city will also increase the number of handicapped parking spaces at those beach entrances, said Mahaney.
MacLeod said the walkways and decks could be moved as needed including for beach cleaning and may be made of a material such as Trex which is a composite made from a combination of reclaimed wood and recycled polyethylene from plastic grocery bags, dry cleaning bags and stretch film. It is ADA compliant and slip resistant.
The city may also build a handicapped accessible beach shower and water fountain by lifeguard headquarters, said MacLeod.
Councilman Niels Favre called the project a “wonderful solution.”