Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Beach Accessibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nantucket commission wins grants for Galley Beach boardwalk and six floatable beach wheelchairs
Summary
The Nantucket Commission on Disabilities said the Mass. Office on Disability awarded two grants: a boardwalk extension at Galley Beach (about 175–180 feet) to improve access and six floatable beach wheelchairs to be distributed for public use; DPW is expected to store and deliver chairs on request.
The Nantucket Commission on Disabilities announced Jan. 2 that it won two Massachusetts Office on Disability grants to improve beach access. Brenda McDonough said the awards include a roughly 175–180‑foot extension of the Galley Beach boardwalk and six floatable beach wheelchairs, and that one of the existing boardwalk sections will be relocated to extend Jetty’s Beach.
The commission said the new boardwalk will bring accessible parking and beach access closer to the water’s edge, and described a plan in which the Department of Public Works would store some chairs and deliver them to users who request them. “They’ll deliver it to, like, let’s say, if you wanna go to Surfside Beach,” a commission member said, describing how the DPW would handle loans.
The grants came from a program the commission said has been operating about eight years; McDonough said the program had approximately $6,000,000 in award funding this cycle and more than $20,000,000 in requests. The commission applied for two separate grants — one for the boardwalk and one for beach wheelchairs — and was notified these were awarded. The commission credited earlier technical assistance from Evan George of the mass office on disability for improving their second application.
Commissioners said the chairs will be kept at a combination of Jetty’s Beach and DPW facilities; details about a public borrowing process, keys and monitoring will be finalized by staff. The commission expects installation in spring and said the boardwalk contractor will install a platform at the end of the Jetty’s boardwalk.
