PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — At a WPTV Let’s Hear It event, Delray Beach resident Ruth Armentrout told anchor Meghan McRoberts about an issue impacting her quality of life — handicap beach access.
WPTV got to work to see if Palm Beach County could do more to improve beach access in the years to come.
It’s the reason so many people live in and visit Palm Beach County.
WPTV presses county leaders to expand beach access for those in wheelchairs
“Good for my soul,” Armentrout said.
She said it was a place where she found peace.
“I love the beach, and I can’t go to the beach now,” Armentrout said.
She explained her health took a mysterious and unexpected turn in 2020. Her mobility declined.
“It just progressively got worse. I went from stumbling to using a cane, to a walker, and by February of 2021, I was in a wheelchair,” Armentrout said.
That meant her beloved beach trips became more rare.
“I like to be able to control things, and I couldn’t control this. I was always very healthy and active, and I lost that,” Armentrout said.
She learned firsthand the challenges of trying to go to the beach with a wheelchair. Her beach trips would only go as far as the end of a beach “mobi-mat” if a beach wheelchair wasn’t available.
According to Palm Beach County, there are six beaches with handicap access — three in the northern section of the county, and three to the south.
Beach wheelchairs still require someone to help push you through the sand. There’s typically one per beach — first come, first served — and they’re not always available when you show up if someone else is using it.
“So you get all ready, and you get down to the beach, and you don’t know if the chair is going to be available or not,” Armentrout said.
“We’re working on the problem. It is a problem. It’s dynamic, it’s not a static issue," said Chief John Meskiel with Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue.
Chief Meskiel said he always supports expanding beach access and would love to see more beaches with handicap access.
But, he says buying more beach wheelchairs and mobi-mats is expensive. Armentrout would like the county to invest in a motorized beach wheelchair, as other counties have in Florida, but they exceed $10,000 each.
“With my independence, I don’t want someone to push me. I want to be able to navigate on my own, to get my feet in the water like everyone else can,” Armentrout said.
WPTV asked the county on behalf of Armentrout if it would consider purchasing a motorized beach chair.
“Your correspondence with the aquatics director and the deputy director of parks was passed down to me, and we looked into it a little more, and that always makes us evaluate ourselves,” Chief Meskiel said.
But the county still has not added a chair to the budget.
“We’ll take donations. If you want to purchase the beach wheelchair, we will definitely take it,” Chief Meskiel said.
Recently, the county did purchase two more mobi-mats and is evaluating the next locations to install them in the near future.
“If one person has beach access to this and they get to experience this environment and have this joy, it’s well worth it,” Chief Meskiel said.
Since originally speaking with Armentrout, she sadly passed away. Her family gave WPTV their blessing to air her story with hopes of pushing for more beach access equipment for those who loved the beach like she did.
Click here for a list of beaches that are handicap accessible.
