Accessible beach entry: the challenges

Jane Bryce - Disability Access Specialist, Inclusive Places

Jane Bryce's life is dominated by Biscuit the cat, who has her well trained to dispense treats on demand. Biscuit the cat kindly lets Jane leave the house to work as an Access Consultant for Inclusive Places. As a natural redhead Jane is not a regular beachgoer despite the image provided for her bio.

Inclusion and access are all about having a predictable environment such as known maximum gradients of ramps, toilet sizes, and so on.

But beach access has many more challenges due to the uncontrollable nature of the movement of sand, water and wind. There are many images of beach-side or cliff-top houses falling into the ocean following a storm. Those same storms also play havoc on accessible paths of travel.

First let me confess that I am not a natural beach goer (most redheads aren’t!).

This story arises from Midcoast Council on the Mid North Coast of NSW after it was visited by a colleague in late 2022 when she shared her findings.

THINGS THAT I’VE OBSERVED IN MY LIMITED BEACH GOING

Sand erosion at base of ramps and stairs onto beaches (Maroubra):

Sand over TGSIs (Tamarama Beach):

Good access for areas that are not subject to the challenges of the elements such as boardwalks and stairs leading to beaches (Maroubra):

But rather than give up because of the challenges of the elements, I want to say thanks to the Local Government Authorities, the councils and shires that work on making beaches as accessible as possible.

Like many other Councils that have coastal areas, Midcoast Council’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan includes objectives and actions associated with improved accessibility in its area. One objective in the Liveable Community part of its DIAP is ‘Recreational space meets the needs of people with disability’ with the action against this objective being ‘Include wheelchair beach access in Forster Main Beach Master Plan’.

WHAT IS AVAILABLE?

Rockpool Reserve Tuncurry has had an access ramp and handrail for many years. Council reports that there is “quite a dropoff at the end due to the water movement undermining the structure”.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE RECENTLY TO IMPROVE ACCESS?

In 2021 the retaining wall was rebuilt in front of the beach area. An accessible ramp onto the beach was included in the design. The surrounding facilities include an accessible toilet, BBQ, playground.

WHAT IS AVAILABLE?

Forster Ocean baths has also been there for many years. Whilst there is a handrail and ramp, it is reported to get slippery if not cleaned regularly, a challenge for many outdoor aquatic facilities I’m sure.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE RECENTLY TO IMPROVE ACCESS?

The Ocean baths had an upgrade of amenities including a combined unisex accessible toilet and shower in 2019. In 2020 a picnic shelter with accessible BBQ and picnic settings was also added to the area.

I encourage everyone who loves the beach to continue to work together on maintaining and increasing beach and waterway access so that more beaches can be added to the Accessible Beaches Australia website: https://accessiblebeaches.com/

With thanks to Calypso Watson, Community Development Officer, and her colleagues at Midcoast Council for their assistance with this article