The president of the Inverness Development Association says it’s pretty unbelievable to be part of an accessibility project at an area beach.
Rob Burbach says they’re almost finished their accessibility work at Inverness Beach.
He says there’s a variety of upgrades to make the visit more welcoming, aside from what’s on the beach specifically, including washroom and shower facilities and more accessible parking.
Burbach tells The Hawk a range of supplies and resources are needed for the work.
“We built a couple of ramps to allow people to get down on the beach, but once they arrive on the beach, that was a real challenge,” he says. “We invested in a couple of different technologies- one of them is called a Mobi-Mat, which allows people with wheelchairs to roll right on the beach.”
Burbach says walkers and a beach chair with balloon tires are other forms of help provided, which give people with disabilities access to the water for what could be the first time.
He says the project really got started in the fall of 2017, and conversation with members of the Inverness Co. Accessibility Committee followed.
“(It’s) something the provincial government has been pushing, probably in the last year or two,” he says. “We’re really first on board, trying to figure out how to make this work, so that’s why we’re the pilot for northern Nova Scotia.”
Burbach says the entire cost of the project is in the range of $360,000, including the restructuring of the ramps.
He says officials from all three levels of government contributed, and there was some local fundraising.
A celebration of beach and boardwalk improvements takes place at the Inverness Beach Canteen on the end of Beach Road #1 at 7 p.m. Monday.
Photo credit: Inverness Development Association FB