Success Stories

May 2022 - North Beach (Baby Beach) Accessibility Improvements

Westport is blessed with many beaches and waterfront areas for residents to enjoy. However, residents with mobility challenges have limited options for accessing these beautiful natural resources. The Commission on Disability used available funds to purchase mobility mats that make it easier for all residents, including those with mobility challenges, to more easily navigate the loose sand.

Working with Chris Gonsalves and the excellent team at the Highway Department, they were able to not only install these mobility mats, but also regraded the parking lot to limit the storm water runoff causing erosion of the beach, and compacted it to make it easier for a wheelchair to navigate. They further cleaned up the numerous dead leaves and sticks that had collected at the top of the beach providing a beautiful and more easily accessible river-front beach for all residents of Westport. Below is an image showing the before and after result of this collaborative effort.

The Beach Committee also intends to install a wheelchair accessible picnic table to further enhance the beach experience for Westport residents. We thank the Highway Department and Beach Committee for their support to deliver this valuable beach enhancement for residents of our Town, and further thank the Selectboard for their continued support to help make Westport accessible for all members of our community.