Morrisburg Beach more accessible than ever

Formerly a member of the Morrisburg Waterfront Committee, Michael Burton rode the Mobi-Chair into the river at the Morrisburg Beach on its maiden voyage last week. He had been working on turning this idea into reality for eight years. (The Leader/Comfort photo)

MORRISBURG – From vision to reality, eight years in the making, the Morrisburg beach is now more accessible than ever – to everyone.

Former Morrisburg Waterfront Committee chairperson Michael Burton, who had the vision so many years ago to bring a Mobi-Chair and ground reinforcement access mat to the Morrisburg Beach, didn’t miss the opportunity to be the first to try the Mobi-Chair with the help of South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad and Councillor Cole Veinotte, who also represents the Waterfront Committee.

June 25 the launch of the new accessibility aids was celebrated at the Morrisburg Beach with South Dundas municipal officials, Community Living Dundas County representatives, and waterfront committee members in attendance.

Now available through the South Dundas sports lending library, residents who require a mobility aid to gain or improve their access to the water can borrow the Mobi-Chair, which is a high quality floating beach wheelchair. It is designed for wheelchair users, people with special needs, and anyone who can benefit from the safety of the chair to go from the beach onto the water.

“When I work on something for the community, it has to be something all-encompassing that is for everybody,” said Burton.

His tenacity on community projects is evident, as he stuck with this one for eight years, and well beyond his time as a member of the waterfront committee.

“It’s for seniors, it’s for those with wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes, baby carriages – essentially, everyone who wants to get in the water but can’t for various reasons,” added Burton.

He credited the connection he made with Kyle Gallinger from Community Living Dundas County during the 100 Men Who Care About South Dundas Event. Gallinger saw the potential benefit of such a tool to many of the people of Community Living.

Community Living Dundas County contributed about $4,000 to this beach accessibility project which cost about $11,500. That, along with contributions from the Morrisburg Waterfront Committee and in-kind support from the Municipality of South Dundas got the project to the point of its recent rollout.

Mayor Jason Broad and Councillor Cole Veinotte provided a helping hand to roll the Mobi-chair into the river along the new access mat as South Dundas Recreation and Community Living officials looked on. (The Leader/Blancher photo)

Nancy Cassell of CLDC said, “Certainly, we have people who can’t access the beach, who will really benefit from this. I’m thinking of one gentleman in particular who will absolutely love this. This is also a way for us to give something back to the community that is so supportive of us, and this will be a benefit to the community.”

South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad thanked Community Living for their contribution to this project, thanked Michael Burton and thanked the waterfront committee and South Dundas Parks and Recreation department for all of their work on this project. Broad added that he learned that CLDC spends a lot of money taking its people outside of the municipality for recreation. “This will help keep people in their own community and make things a bit easier for you (CLDC staff) who already have enough on your plates,” said Broad.

The new access mat, installed last week, has already been a welcome addition to Morrisburg Beach for everyone.

“We’re seeing everyone exiting the water make use of that mat,” said South Dundas Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities, David Jansen. “It means less sand on their feet and we’re seeing a benefit as the washroom facilities are staying a lot cleaner.”

While the Mobi-Chair will need to be borrowed by calling the municipality, the mat will remain installed at the beach for the benefit of everyone throughout the season.