Disabled to Get Better Access to Parks

State parks officials and disability rights groups announced Tuesday an agreement aimed at improving access for disabled visitors at more than 270 parks and recreational areas across California.

The agreement, announced in Oakland, resolves two lawsuits charging that disabled people were unfairly denied access to state recreational facilities.

“We are thrilled,” said Larry Paradis, executive director of the Oakland-based Disability Rights Advocates and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “It’s a real landmark in terms of opening the whole outdoors to people with disabilities.”

Access will be improved to all of the parks’ educational, interpretive and recreational programs, such as boating, camping and cycling.

“The plan is simple: make parks more accessible to more citizens,” said Roy Stearns, deputy director for communications for the Department of Parks and Recreation. He added that over the last four years his department has spent about $30 million to bring about such improvements, and that work continues in about 30 parks.

But he also said the department manages more than 3,000 miles of trails, some extremely rugged that may never be accessible to the disabled.

Paradis, who has used a wheelchair for the last 20 years, stressed that many recreational activities are “absolutely realistic” for disabled people.

“Last year, I went bike riding and kayaking in the San Francisco Bay area,” he said.

The state maintains a website that lists parks already designed to accommodate the needs of some disabled visitors: https://access.parks.ca.gov/.