Since I became the Mobility Specialist for Island Transit, I’ve had a growing awareness of people with mobility challenges and what our buses can do for them. As someone who loves the natural world, I cannot imagine being without access to the woods, beaches and bluffs close to home. So I’ve made it my personal goal to remove barriers and encourage people who may think that they can no longer get out on trails. We’re all growing older and may be less inclined to venture out due to injury or illness. Yet most people find solace in nature and we all need access. This outing began with an email from Kate Poss asking me about ideas for her blog This is Whidbey. She came on a bus tour with me last year and covered it in her blog. David Welton is her blog partner and photographer. I told her I’d like to promote how to get to accessible trails with Island Transit. I’m on the County Accessible Communities Committee where I heard about Wendy Sines who works at the Langley Whale Center and uses a wheelchair. I asked Wendy if she’d be willing to come test some trails to see if they were really accessible. Thankfully, though she knew none of us, she accepted. I asked Jack Hartt to come as our photographer. Then I asked Island Transit for a bus and driver. Joanie Crowther, a veteran bus operator and avid hiker took on the assignment with expertise and enthusiasm. We even invited Hawkeye, a Bouvier, to come under the management of David’s wife Georgia Edwards. Hawkeye is well trained and a certified hospital therapy dog. He’s also the most easy-going teddy bear of a dog you’d ever want to meet. We met up at Island Transit near Coupeville. Joanie pulled the bus around to load Wendy in her wheelchair and the rest of us stepped onboard. All Island Transit buses have a ramp or lift and can carry two wheelchairs, strollers, and 2 or 3 bikes. Click here for a video of Wendy using the lift to get on the bus. Our first stop was South Whidbey State Park on the Route 1 Southbound. After unloading, we took the paved roadway to the left of the ADA restrooms into the old campground which is closed to traffic. There was a steep hill. I told Wendy to let us know if she felt unsafe at any point. She assured me that as long as the surface was paved and dry that her electric wheelchair could make it. Hawkeye, posed as a support animal. Service animals are allowed on the bus, as are pets in an approved carrier, if they aren’t in the aisle and don’t bother other passengers. After a nice turn around the campground loop serenaded by spring bird calls we boarded the bus again. Click here to see Wendy take off on the trails. Our next stop was at South Whidbey Community Park behind South Whidbey High School on the Route 60. We disembarked at the sign on Maxwelton Road. Wendy rolled right through the park on the paved road and packed gravel trails. Not all trails are wheelchair accessible but the Westing Loop, Water Tank Way and Park Connector are good. She raced up the last steep hill and passed ADA restrooms by the playground and soccer fields. The bus waited for us at the shelter on Langley Road. I told Wendy if she didn’t feel comfortable rolling on the shoulder we could ask the bus driver to pick us up at the nearby park entrance, but Wendy was fine. Click here to see Wendy and Jack on the Oak Harbor waterfront trail. From there we headed north to the Oak Harbor Waterfront Trail. The main bus terminal, Harbor Station, is just across Bayshore Drive from Flintstone Park where this mile long trail begins. We followed it west just above the beach, by playgrounds, picnic pavilions, over the bridge by the swimming lagoon and through Freund Marsh, a natural area with packed gravel trails. Joanie waited with the bus at the far end near Walmart. By then Wendy’s wheelchair battery was running low but Wendy was thrilled. It was an exciting day for us all. Joanie told me later, “You could see her blossoming as her confidence built throughout the day. She realized, ‘Yes! I can do this!’” Maribeth Directions: South Whidbey State Park is on Smugglers Cove Road 6 miles north of Freeland or 5 miles south of Greenbank Farm. Follow the signs from Highway 525. South Whidbey Community Park is one mile north of Highway 525 on Maxwelton Road or a mile north of Ken’s Korner on Langley Road. To find the Oak Harbor Waterfront Trail take Highway 20 to Pioneer Way and go east. Drive a quarter mile and turn right onto Bayshore Drive. Drive another quarter mile and Flintstone Park will be on your right, directly across from Harbor Station bus terminal. Transit and Mobility: All Island Transit and Skagit Transit buses carry wheelchairs as well as strollers and bikes. Island Transit is fare free and we offer free travel training to help you get started. There is a list of bus accessible trails and wheel-friendly trails in the back of Hiking Close to Home. We recommend going in dry weather. Not all trails are accessible for all mobility challenges or assistance devices, but these three sites are among the easiest to access by Island Transit bus. You may also take Skagit Transit 410 to the Tommy Thompson Trail in Anacortes which is a 3.3 mile paved bike path that starts across R Avenue from Safeway and continues south toward the refineries. For details call me at 360-678-9536, or email [email protected], or visit the Island Transit website for a flyer of 5 trails on North Whidbey here: irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/ac3d33af/files/uploaded/Island%20Transit%20Best%20By%20Bus%20Accessible%20Trails%20North.pdf And 5 trails on South Whidbey that are transit accessible and wheel-friendly here: irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/ac3d33af/files/uploaded/Island%20Transit%20Best%20By%20Bus%20Accessible%20Trails%20South.pdf
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Maribeth Crandell has been a hiking guide in the Pacific NW for over 20 years. She's lived on Whidbey and Fidalgo Island for decades. As a frequent bus rider she easily makes connections between trails and transit. Archives by date
April 2024
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