Naples City Council approved a $125,070.16 project to add ADA-compliant amenities like blue sand mats at the Vedado Way beach entrance. These mats are designed to make it easier for people with disabilities, as well as those using strollers, wheelchairs, or wagons, to move through the sand.
"Yeah, it's tough pulling!" said Dan Garrity, who was visiting the beach and hauling his family's belongings across the sand.
Jim Roggio, a Naples resident, agreed that the blue mats would help. "We'd be happier if they put the blue mats down because look, take a look at my luggage. I have to take all my chairs off the beach. So it's a little tough in the sand, but once you make it to the blacktop, it's easy," Roggio said.
In addition to the mats, the project also includes adding more handicapped parking spots, ADA-friendly water fountains, a shower, and wider sidewalks.
Chad Merritt, the City of Naples Parks and Recreation Facilities Director, explained that the project was initially planned before Hurricane Ian but was put on hold.
"So the walkways will become ADA-compliant; previous walkways were not. They were too narrow. So they didn't make those ADA-compliant. The ADA mat, which we talked about, and then the parking spaces and just making it a little more accessible. You don't have elevations that you have to go up to get to the beach." Merritt said.
The city plans to start the project sometime in April and is expected to take about a month to 45 days to complete.