Gina Hoskins rode her electric-powered wheelchair on the newly named Hermosa Beach Greenbelt Accessible Trail last Tuesday, August 12, something she could not have done before the trail’s woodchips were replaced with decomposed granite, the same material commonly used for National Park trails. The trail runs from along the Greenbelt, from Pier Avenue to 8th Street.
Hoskins’ 11 year old daughter loves to run. Her able-bodied father coaches her soccer team. The opening of the ADA accessible Greenbelt trail gives Hoskins the opportunity to participate with her daughter in outdoor activities.
“Things like this give me an entrée into doing something physical that my daughter also likes to do,“ Hoskins said. “It makes physical activities inclusive.”
At the ribbon cutting, held August 12, Mayor Rob Saemann dedicated the resurfaced trail to Access Hermosa, a community organization dedicated to making Hermosa more accessible for those with mobility challenges and disabilities, and also to the memories of Geoff Hirsch and Casey Rohrer.
After a stroke left him wheelchair-bound, Access Hermosa founder, Hirsch, worked to increase accessibility awareness in Hermosa Beach. The three Mobi-Mats on the beach at 2nd, 11th and 22nd streets are the result of his efforts. He passed away in 2022.
Rohrer was a playwright, motivational speaker and activist who was born with Cerebral Palsy. To communicate he used a Tobii, an eye tracking device. The Mira Costa High graduate passed away in 2023, at age 20.
Mayor Rob Saemann, another founding member of Access Hermosa, told the gathering, “Our Greenbelt has become one of our most beloved community spaces – a place that brings residents together to enjoy Hermosa’s natural beauty. But for too long, many residents, especially those with mobility challenges, couldn’t fully enjoy it.”
Opponents to the ADA trail contended it was too expensive and unnecessary. The City spent $843,000 for the trail, and other ADA improvements throughout the city. The cost was offset by a Measure A grant from Los Angeles County for $529,000.
“It’s such a misnomer when folks see an extra line item and it seems overly burdensome for a budget,” Hoskins said. “What ends up happening is it makes the environment more user friendly in ways that people don’t think about.” As an example Hoskins noted how the beach Mobi-Mats are used for strollers and wagons, and how the new trail accommodates strollers, as well as e-bikes.
“When we first proposed these things a lot of people said, ‘There’s not enough people that even need that. How many people are actually in wheelchairs?’ It doesn’t matter. If there’s just one person, then we should do it,” Seamann said after the ceremony.
Mayor Saemann said he hopes those who opposed the project will recognize its benefits.
“I don’t think any one of them can come here and look at it and say, ‘See, it’s just as ugly as I thought it would be.’ It’s awesome. This is what God would have put here if he thought about wheelchairs in the beginning,” he said.
Mayor Seamann, a retired contractor, thanked the City Council and Staff, and accessibility activists.
“I want to really thank Public Works Director Joe SanClemente for making this right, doing it the right way,” he added.
“This is another thing that makes us, us.” ER
