Longtime summer resident demands real improvement
By Cheryl Howland
I am writing to add my voice to the many voices of people who have expressed deep dismay and anger over the so-called “improvements” made to the beaches on the south end of Willoughby Lake in Westmore.
I have been coming to the Northeast Kingdom all my life. My wife’s family has a house in East Burke on land that has been in the family for more than 200 years. My sister-in law has lived in Sutton for over forty years. I have been going to swim and kayak on Willoughby for over 30 years and when I saw these horrible “improvements”, I frankly cried. In talking with family and listening to others in the area, I know I am not alone in my reaction.
For the past 13 years I have used a wheelchair. This is due to a chronic disabling medical condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a collagen deficiency that impacts many bodily systems. I do not enjoy this set of circumstances but I am grateful for the wheelchair and its ability to keep me from dangerous falls.
Since using a wheelchair, I have always been able to access this beach with little or no trouble by backing our car down as far as we could and then using my wheelchair or walker to get a short distance to the beach. Until now.
Your “improvements” have made it so that I can no longer safely access this wonderful place either for swimming or for launching our kayak for fishing. People with disabilities and elders or anyone with mobility challenges can no longer gain safe access to this place of joy and wonder.
You may think that you complied with the technical requirements of the Americans with Disabilities act of 1991, signed by President George H. W. Bush, but you most certainly did not comply with the actual reality of “access”. The 10-12% of the population that requires access are essentially now blocked from that space.
While I am now retired, I spent a large part of my professional career at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as an Assistant Director of Disability Services whose role it was to apply the legal mandates of the IDEA and the ADA for the thousand or so UMass students whose disability(ies) required that the University provide reasonable accommodations. Were I to grade your work, as I did in the courses I taught, you would receive a resounding “F”.
Your failure to comply with both the spirit and the letter these federal mandates is extreme. The following is a list of your acute failures to accommodate people with disabilities and mobility needs, to wit: • First and foremost, you have created a situation where it is nearly impossible for someone with disability to independently access the beach. Before, it was difficult, but possible. Now, the drop off area necessitates assistance from another which undermines the independence of individuals with disabilities.
• The drop off area is made of concrete which creates a much greater chance of serious injury in a fall than did sand for all people, not just those with a handicap but children and anyone who trips, increasing the chances of a lawsuit hazard.
• Issues with the ramp: At the end of the ramp, rocks prevent access to the beach area. These rocks, I have been told, have in fact been added to restrict access to the beach. It is a poorly designed area that is a fall hazard in the extreme. There is no place to leave a walker or wheelchair at the end of the ramp, thus use by any one person would block usage by others. Electric wheelchairs could get down the ramp but are met with sand. Again, there is no way to access the beach. The ramp angle is steep, creating a trip hazard for people using a walker who are unsteady on their feet. In order to get to the beach, one would need to get into a boat at the water, paddle to the beach, and then get out of the boat again…way more steps to get to the beach than before which increases chances of falls and potential lawsuits.
• Issues with the stairs: There are no railings on the stairs going down to the beach and the stairs are made from uneven rocks and present a serious trip hazard to elderly and mobility impaired individuals.
• Issues with trails to the beach:
- The path to the beach near the ramp is accessible with a walker or a wheelchair for a ways, but the path ends in roots and small trees cut above grade, and then some stones, rendering it inaccessible as well as creating a serious trip and fall hazard.
- There is a nice accessible path from the parking area to the accessible bathroom. However, what appears to be an accessible trail to the beach ends at a rock-covered drop to the beach. Given that it is not an accessible trail, a sign should indicate this so newcomers can be aware of the dangers as well as the futility of using that trail.
• Issues with parking:
- There are a number of parking places that are marked as handicapped accessible and they are acceptable. However, there is no easy or safe way to get from the parking lot to the beach.
- One would have to first transverse the busy and dangerous parking area to get to the main road; there is no designated path to get to the main road.
- If one successfully navigated the parking area, then one would need to roll or walk down the hill along the side of the busy road with no safe way to do that. Able people might be able to jump out of the way of a car if needed, but those using a walker or wheelchair would have no safe escape. There is no protection from the road, not even a marked lane. Rolling back up the hill carries the same risks, with the added issue that one would not see potentially dangerous cars coming up from behind. And it is a long way for someone who is elderly, or who uses a wheelchair or walker.
In summary, persons with disabilities and elders with mobility challenges are stopped or blocked by barriers to equal use and access at every possible entryway. This letter will be sent to many individuals and stakeholders in this matter from whom I expect responses. Included in the responses, I expect: 1. An answer to the many problematic barriers to access as outlined in this letter. 2. A plan to immediately put in place changes to the overall “improvements” that will be truly accommodating to ALL PERSONS and specifically those with mobility based disabilities.
The author is a Leverett, MA resident This letter also was sent to the Westmore Town Clerk.