Specially wheelchairs make the rustic beach at Palm Beach County’s only state park open to people who’d otherwise have to watch from the pavement.
Lianna Norman -Palm Beach Post
August 12, 2022
NORTH PALM BEACH — The beach should be for everyone, but tell that to someone in a wheelchair. Pushing a standard one through the sand won’t work – it sinks. But MacArthur Beach State Park is on a mission to allow its guests on wheels to fully enjoy the sand and sea.
On Aug. 4, Lake Worth Beach mom Rachel Mohlman pushed her daughter, Riley Schidaker, down the park’s boardwalk, beach tents and towels in tow. Riley curiously surveyed the estuary as she and her family trekked toward the trees. When they stepped into the shade, a beach-cruising wheelchair was waiting for the 11-year-old.
“This thing does not work in the sand,” she said, gesturing to her daughter’s everyday wheelchair. “Usually I carry my daughter down. And we’re kind of stuck there for a while. So this is way better. She can get in the water more easily.”
Rachel balanced her beach bag on the back of her daughter’s beach chair and pushed her up the ramp toward the dunes.
In March 2020, Palm Beach County’s only state park received an Americans with Disabilities Act accessible electric tram to transport guests to the single beach-accessible wheelchair at the park.
Last month, two more beach wheelchairs were added to MacArthur’s boardwalk. Now, up to three wheelchair-using guests at a time can enjoy the park’s popular beach, and even swim, with the addition of the new water-friendly wheelchairs.
The tram can fit up to six people in it and has a deck and ramp perfectly designed for a wheelchair to board. It was gifted to MacArthur through a grant from Florida Power & Light Co. and is built to travel the terrain of the trails and boardwalk that wind through MacArthur’s mangrove estuary and beach.
Anyone in a wheelchair hoping to get in the ocean and cruise the sand can ride the tram down the sunbaked boardwalk that connects the nature center and the beach across the 0.3 miles of estuary.
At the end of the boardwalk, under the shade of mangrove trees, rangers and volunteers help guests into one of the park’s three wheelchair beach cruisers and onto the wheelchair ramp. Just before the ramp meets the sand, there is a scenic lookout, where guests can spot the snorkel-friendly rock reef in the shallow water to their left.
The park has enjoyed its one sand-accessible wheelchair for a few years now, according to Veronica Frehm, executive director of the Friends of MacArthur Park. And she’s excited to welcome more.
On her first day of work at MacArthur eight years ago, a volunteer told Frehm what the first sand-accessible wheelchair meant to him and his wife.
“One of our volunteers and his wife were coming to our park a lot, and she was unable to walk on the beach for a couple of different medical reasons,” Frehm said. “But they came every single day. And they took this wheelchair out … every day at sunset for weeks. It was so special to them, because she looked forward to it every day.”
State helps MacArthur find grants for wheelchairs, other improvements
Frehm’s enthusiasm for the park stayed strong and steady as stories of the wheelchairs being put to good use bubbled out of her. “We sometimes have people use these wheelchairs on the trails and on the boardwalk, just so they can see everything,” Frehm said. “With our school kids, we have lots of students that come in their own wheelchairs. And when they get here and see these fun, beach-accessible ones, they are just so excited.”
The two water-friendly wheelchairs have huge floating armrests and thick, lightweight wheels made to maneuver over the sandy beach. The seats are not only comfortable for the passenger, but the chair itself also glides where a regular wheelchair would sink.
“We have a couple of groups that come with adult learners as well, and it’s the same thing. They all rally around them,” Frehm said. “They’re so excited that their friend gets to go on the beach with them instead of having to wait on the hard surface. And it’s just so special to me. I came back to the park services because they want everyone to enjoy everything they can.”
The Florida State Park Association has helped MacArthur procure grants for most of the big asks, such as its desire for an ADA-friendly beach, according to Frehm. The park’s WaterWheels floating beach wheelchairs were donated by the State Parks Foundation and the Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation.
“It’s incredibly exciting to know that more of the amazing people we get to serve will have the opportunity to experience and enjoy all that our beautiful beaches have to offer,” President and CEO for The Arc of Palm Beach County Kimberly McCarten said. “We applaud and join MacArthur State Park in their efforts to see all people.”
