Miami-Dade County Park and Recreation Department welcomes people with disabilities to its beautiful sandy beach areas. To assist those who are mobility impaired, special beach wheelchairs, have been placed at beach areas. Following are some recommendations for making your use of the beach chair more enjoyable:
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Call ahead. Let our staff know when you'll be coming out. This will decrease waiting time. The chairs are available on a first come, first serve basis only. So although you've called, whoever gets there first, gets the chair.
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Bring a friend. The beach chairs cannot be self-propelled and Park staff are not able to provide assistance with transferring into, or pushing you around in the chair. So bring someone to assist you.
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Keep track of time. Staff must store the chairs before they leave each day. Check with staff to know when you must return the chair. Haulover: Apr.-Oct., 9 am -6 pm; Nov.-Mar., 9 am-4 pm .
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Leave a deposit. There is no charge to use the beach chair, but you may be asked to leave something of value, (your wheelchair, drivers license, photo I.D., or keys, etc.) to ensure that the chair will be returned.
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Watch where you're going! The beachchair can go into water no more than 6" deep because the wheels are very buoyant, so stay near the shoreline.
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The beach chair is in the greatest demand on Sunday afternoons. While there are four chairs at each of these locations, you may want to avoid this very busy time.
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Keep us posted. Let us know how we can improve our access to people with disabilities. If you have an important comment regarding the beachchair, please call our Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, Lucy Binhack, at 305-755-7848 (v/tdd).
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