By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City has replaced the steep steps leading up to the Promenade at 51st and 53rd streets with new ramps that will greatly improve accessibility.
The gently sloping handicap-accessible ramps will make it much easier for senior citizens, people with disabilities and families with young children to get to the oceanfront Promenade and for trips to the beach.
“One of the city’s ongoing goals is to provide everyone with sufficient access to our Promenade and beaches, so the new ADA ramps make perfect sense. The ramps are very convenient, especially for those who rely on a wheelchair, use rolling carts for their beach gear, ride bicycles, push baby strollers or simply have difficulty with staircases,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said.
The ramps were part of a $298,500 construction contract. The contractor, R.A. Walters & Son Inc. of Cape May Court House, has completed the ramp at 53rd Street and is putting the finishing touches on the one at 51st Street. Both ramps are open to the public.
The city built the ramps to make the Promenade even more convenient to the residents and visitors who enjoy its oceanfront location. The old steps had posed challenges for seniors, people with disabilities and others to climb because they were narrow and steep.
Crowds flock to the Promenade in summer for walking, biking, shopping and dining. Sea Isle already has ramps that comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act at a number of locations on the Promenade.
The handicap-accessible ramps include where the Promenade starts at 29th Street and ends at 57th Street. They can also be found at John F. Kennedy Boulevard, 44th Street, 49th Street and other locations.
Separately, the city is also planning to build a handicap-accessible ramp and platform over the dunes at Fifth Street to create easier access to the beach as well as views of the ocean and bay.
The gently sloping ramp at 53rd Street also includes railings to improve access to the Promenade.
Custer noted that other streets leading to the Promenade will also be considered for new ramps.
“We do plan to add additional ADA ramps along the Promenade in the future, but I don’t have any specifics right now. But that is the plan,” she said.
The Promenade stretches for 1.5 miles between 29th and 57th streets and is a haven for pedestrians, joggers and bicyclists. It is often crowded with people heading to the beaches in the bustling summer vacation season.
The new ramps are part of a broader plan to make the Promenade more inviting and attractive. The family-friendly walkway serves as a hub for sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, recreation and special events.
Sea Isle was awarded a nearly $2 million grant from the state Boardwalk Preservation Fund in February for repairs and reconstruction of the Promenade.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio said in February that the city plans to add more decorative lighting at both ends of the Promenade, make structural repairs and create better handicap access using the state grant.
The city has been livening up the Promenade in recent years with new decorative lighting, new benches and a new public address system, among other improvements.
The asphalt and concrete Promenade dates to the 1960s. It replaced Sea Isle’s old boardwalk after it was reduced to mangled bits of wood rubble by the colossal Ash Wednesday storm that pummeled the Jersey Shore in 1962. Some of the old-timers in town still refer to the Promenade as “the boardwalk."
The old Promenade steps at 51st Street have also been replaced by a ramp.
