Access Oceanside Association
It's been a long time coming but the mobi mats have finally been installed by City of Parksville operations staff from the concrete ramp directly in front of the Waterfront Gazebo. The mats are made from reclaimed ocean-bound plastics. They cross the soft sand and rocks ending on the hard-packed sand on the beach which allows persons using mobility devices such as wheelchairs, scooters and walkers to safely access the beach.
Thanks to the generous financial support of Corona Canada through its Accessing Paradise Pledge.
Access Oceanside received a donation consisting of 133 feet of Mobi-mat and two Mobi-chairs.
Effective from July 19th, 2024 these were deployed on Parksville Beach allowing everyone to access and enjoy our world-famous beach.
Access Oceanside Association (AOA) in partnership with the City of Parksville, official opening of the accessible beach mat, also known as a "mobi-mat". The funding was provided by Corona Canada through its Accessing Paradise Pledge and also included two beach wheelchairs which may be reserved free of charge through the Beach Club Resort. The donation was coordinated by Wade Watts, Mobility Facilitator with Watts Accessibility Consulting and distributor for Mobi-mats in Canada.
Sandra Hobson, AOA chair, expressed her gratitude to O’Brien, Coun. Amit Gaur and Parks Manager Graham Gidden for their unwavering support in making this project a reality.
Ralph the AOA Secretary was thanked for his extremely hard work and dedication to the project as he also thanked everyone who was involved in the project.
Mayor Doug O'Brien spoke on behalf of Parksville Council.
"Our sincere thank you to Corona Canada for this generous donation.
To Access Oceanside Association for their dedication to the mobi-mat project and for their work in our community, and for the support of the Beach Club Resort and the Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism Association.
We look forward to seeing how this project helps to improve accessibility at Parksville Bay beach.”
Starting point for the Mobi-mats is the access ramp just in front of the waterfront gazebo at the Parksville Community Park.
They stretch out for 100 feet crossing the soft sand and rocks to allow persons walking or using mobility devices to reach the hard-pack sand during low tide.
In addition there is a 33 foot cross-section where people with mobility challenges can enjoy spending time on the beach.
They will deployed on a seasonal basis starting as early as May until October – weather permitting.
The City of Parksville takes care of all operational aspects including installation, removal and winter storage.
The two Mobi-chairs are designed to be pushed/pulled by an adult attendant along the beach; they cannot be self-propelled.
The armrests and tires allow it to be a floatation device in the water so the user can enjoy the shallow warm waters of Parksville Beach during the summer.
Through a partnership arrangement with the Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism Association, the chairs will be managed by The Beach Club Resort located at the western end of the beach at 181 Beachside Drive in Parksville.
They will be available from May to October at no charge,
on rental basis for up to two hours.
They can be reserved in advance by contacting The Beach Club Resort front desk at +1-250-248-8999 or by eMail to beachclub@bellstar.ca .
The Technical Stuff
Download the Parksville Mobi-chai information sheet.
Read about the Area of Operations, safety measures , technical specifications and more.