Accessibility in Osoyoos was given a lift just prior to the start of the BC Day long weekend with the addition of a new trailer to store and transport the town’s mobility equipment. This is a free service provided by the Town of Osoyoos through the Accessibility and Age-Friendly Advisory Committee.
Gerald Davis, Director of Community Services at the town noted was awarded $25,000 from the Social Planning and Research Council (SPARC) of BC for the purchase of an enclosed trailer to house the town’s two Mobi-Chairs (floating mobility aid), Mobi-Mats and TrailRider (all-terrain mobility aid).
The Mobi-Mats provide a stable portable pathway over the sand to enable wheelchair access to the water. This allows people in wheelchairs to bask on the beach, dip their feet in the water, or the floating Mobi-Chair to cross the beach and into the water.
The mobi chairs are all GPS-embedded as is the trailer itself. The grant which the town received for $25,000 also covered the GPS implementation.
The new accessibility trailer was made possible by a $25,000 grant and will make it much easier to access the mobility equipment. Don Urquhart photo
In order to qualify for the grant municipalities are required to have an accessibility plan in place, something Osoyoos has had for a number of years after creating its Accessibility and Age Friendly Advisory Committee (AAFAC) back in 2013.
Davis noted that the trailer idea was one of the things the committee came up with because the town had accessibility for a couple of years, but there wasn’t much awareness around it. And as Davis notes, the equipment is too bulky to bring down to the beach on its own.
The trailer will be stationed, at least for now, at Gyro Beach, largely because it’s central and Gyro Beach attracts large numbers of beachgoers and open from 6:30 a.m. till 4 p.m. daily.
He says it’s possible for someone to tow the trailer themselves should they want to use them at a different location and he noted that if someone was planning a party at one of the other local beaches then the town would move the trailer to that particular beach.
“I think when we get going what might happen is that we will rotate it around the other beaches,” he said. Currently, there are Mobi-Mats at Gyro Beach, Legion Beach and Cottonwood Beach, although the latter doesn’t currently reach to the water.
With this latest grant, the town also purchased another Mobi-Mat which Davis says will probably be used at Cottonwood to extend the current mat into the lake. The one at Gyro Beach doesn’t quite reach the water and for that they are looking at purchasing a small extension. The trailer is also equipped with life jackets which are advisable when using the floating Mobi-Chairs.
Currently, the TrailRider is being hosted by Sessions Outdoor Sports in a bid to increase awareness of it. The special chair is a unique mobility device enabling accessibility to more rugged terrain and wilderness areas.
