Pine Point Beach Sharon Kelley
Homeowners in Scarborough held a meeting on May 23 with town officials to discuss making Pine Point Beach more handicap accessible.
“Several homeowners have brought it to our attention that there’s no handicap access to the beach for wheelchairs or people in a walker or even people with bad knees, strollers, all that,” said Heidi Davis, one of the local accessibility advocates. “So several homeowners have offered to spearhead and actually pay to make the public beach more handicap accessible. You know, there’s Kennebunk, all the other beaches are handicap accessible except for Scarborough.”
Davis and others met with Todd Souza, community services director in Scarborough.
“It was great, (Souza) has a plan drawn up that would have a walkway so if somebody were handicapped … or using a walker or whatever it is, they can actually access the beach,” Davis said. “Which is important … we just thought it was important to make it handicap accessible so everyone can enjoy the beach.”
According to organizers, the meeting was well attended with productive conservations. The next step is for Souza to present the project to the town and seek approval. If successful, Souza will try to get the project going within the next couple of months ahead of the summer season.
As it stands, many citizens cannot access the beach. Davis mentioned a veteran’s home that would like to bring people down but cannot due to mobility limitations.
“It seems like everyone’s goal is just to make that public beach accessible for anybody,” Davis said. “Whether they are in a wheelchair or a walker or a knee brace, anything.”
Pine Point Beach in Scarborough. Maxen Ryder
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