Residents who require use of a wheelchair, walker or other helper to get around town can now maneuver around the East Haven town beach easier thanks to an ADA-approved, all-terrain wheelchair called "The Smoothie."
Candace Criscuolo, a town employee as well as the town’s ADA Compliance Officer, demonstrated its use.
"It's comfy," she said. "It's not easy being in a wheelchair. This will make it easier to go on the sand and grass."
Criscuolo, who has been in a wheelchair for about five years, is hoping that future therapy may help her walk again.
"It's hard being in a wheelchair. People (without handicapped stickers) park in your spaces. Sidewalks can be very tough to negotiate," she said.
Residents needing to use the all-terrain wheelchair need to check in at the beach building to sign it out. It is kept under lock and key and is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., said the monies to purchase the $4,000 wheelchair were obtained from funds earmarked for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) projects in the town’s 2012 Bonding package.
"We have had residents ask about the town getting something like this, but there was no money at the time," said Maturo.
The mayor pointed out another new ramp built at the beach for those needing it, and all the new sand that was recently brought in to replenish the beach.
And although the weather seemed more like late October than the middle of July, and no sunbathers on the beach, the mayor added "we have the cleanest beach on the Connecticut shoreline."
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