Oregon's Tillamook Coast Donates Beach Wheelchairs to Three Towns

Published 01/09/21 at 5:26 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Tillamook, Oregon) – Late in December, just in time for Christmas, the Visit Tillamook Coast tourism entity gifted three north Oregon coast towns with increased mobility for some visitors. As part of their strategic commitment to outdoor access, Tillamook Coast Visitors Association delivered four beach wheelchairs to three high-demand beach areas in the county: Manzanita, Rockaway Beach and Pacific City.

An increasing need for ways to get onto the beach for all has resulted in this trend of Oregon coast towns acquiring beach wheelchairs. Seaside was one of the first, with Manzanita not far behind a few years back. Now, Manzanita receives yet another chair, and just in time as one of their mobility chairs was beyond repair.

Troxel's in Rockaway Beach, which gets one chair, began offering the service in 2019, but the chair they have now (purchased by Troxel's) was not enough to meet demand. Pacific City, which has not previously had beach wheelchairs available to the public, receives two chairs.

“When our budget was drastically cut this fiscal year, we thought we might have to put this program on hold,” said Nan Devlin, executive director of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA). “Fortunately, we received $10,000 in a COVID-relief grant from Travel Oregon to help with our operational costs, so that freed up just enough funds in our budget to go ahead and purchase these beach wheelchairs.”

Wheelchairs are free to borrow / reserve. Donations are accepted to help offset costs.

In choosing equity partners, TCVA looked for beach accessibility, high visitor counts, ability to respond to requests for the chairs, and partners who could maintain the equipment. The chairs were purchased from Debug Mobility Products, a company recommended to TCVA by Seaside's tourism organization for the chairs' long-lasting quality and the company's customer service. For more information, visit www.beachwheelchair.com

To reserve a beach wheelchair in Pacific City, email adventures@headlandslodge.com..

“Our one chair was sometimes too small for people to sit comfortably, so this new chair gives us a way to accommodate more adults as well as children,” said Victor and Jenn Troxel, co-owners of Troxel's store, located across the street from the Rockaway Beach wayside. To reserve a beach wheelchair in Rockaway Beach, call or text 541-418-2842 or email rockawayrocks@gmail.com

To reserve a beach wheelchair in Manzanita, call 503 812-5510.

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