For the first time in Victoria, people with reduced mobility will be able to hire beach walking frames to take a stroll along the beach.
The walking frames are the newest addition to Council's Accessible Beaches Program, and have been made possible through a partnership between Council, the Altona Village Traders Association, the Altona Lifesaving Club and the Williamstown Swimming and Lifesaving Club.
The walking frames are designed to traverse the hard and soft sand, allowing users to walk down to the water's edge. They are available for hire through Council and can be collected at Altona and Williamstown Beaches on Saturdays and Sundays, from 12pm to 5pm throughout summer.
The beach walking frames complement Council's range of beach wheelchairs available for hire, including:
- Sandpiper which is designed for children to travel on the sand along the beach (available at Altona and Williamstown)
- MobiChair which is designed to enter the water to waist height of the support person (available at Altona and Williamstown)
- DaVinci manual self-propelled beach wheelchair (available at Altona)
Altona and Williamstown Beaches also boast accessible matting which enables people with wheelchairs and prams to walk down to the water at any time of year.
The entire Accessible Beaches Program, is thanks to support and partnership between Council and a range of community groups including Altona-Village Traders Association, Altona Life Saving Club, Williamstown Swimming & Life Saving Club Inc, Altona Sports Club, Altona Bowling Club, Altona RSL, Lions Club of Altona, Rotary Altona, Altona, Laverton and Point Cook Community Bank Branches.
