A wheelchair accessible mat was rolled down the beach at Riverside Park in Kamloops on May 11, 2023.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Tina Lang
May 12, 2023 - 6:00 PM
Longtime Kamloops resident and former city councillor Tina Lang stopped by Riverside Park this week and watched as city park staff rolled a long blue mat down the beach and asked them what they were doing.
“It was pretty cool, it beetled down the slope over the sand,” she said. “It has a neat texture to it that provides traction.”
The mat is designed to make the beach more accessible for people with mobility issues including those who use wheelchairs and canes.
“The crew was there to see how far it went and what it looked like,” Lang said. “There was a discussion about putting it on more of an angle. At some point this blue mat will be installed on the beach for physically challenged people to access the water. Accessibility is everything and this is a city that can be tough to get around on with so many hills and areas where there’s older infrastructure.”
Lang said the new spray park is “spectacular” and there are new washrooms painted with tournament capital colours, both opening on the May long weekend along with a new inclusive playground in the park.
At a council meeting in the fall of 2021 city administration was directed to replace the aging spray park, and the washroom and change room building to allow for a fully accessible, gender neutral year-round facility that included new all-season solar powered washrooms but supply chain challenges in 2022 delayed progress on the the projects.
The new washrooms at Riverside Park are opening on the May long weekend.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Tina Lang
“The city crews and gardeners are working really hard to beautify the city,” Lang said.
City interim capital projects manager Matt Kachel and parks supervisor Shawn Cook were not immediately available for comment.
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