WE STRONGLY OPPOSE BUILDING A CONCRETE
SIDEWALK AND RAMP INTO GRAYDON
Our March 7, 2012, e-newsletter on the subject (click picture):
A note sent to the council by Brice Yoder, RHS '58 (reprinted here with permission):
I am a Ridgewood ex-pat now living in California with many, many happy memories of Graydon Pool.
I also happen to be a C-5 quadriplegic who enjoys swimming, and do so in a number of handicap accessible environments. I have looked at this plan from the perspective of a wheelchair user and find it generally to be unusable--the architect/engineer who designed this should spend at least a week or two in a chair rolling through a variety of environments. Then perhaps they can understand my statement. "Unusable". A handicap accessible ramp to waters edge and beyond need not run along the shoreline. It should be direct in function and very simplistic. All the shoreline pathways etc. etc. are superfluous and probably only intended as billable makework for the architect/engineer to say nothing of the contractor. I have consulted over the years, for many projects of a similar nature and this is ridiculous--it can certainly be done providing access for disabled folks and preserving the charm and environment of that institution we call Graydon pool.--Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me [phone number]-good luck--Brice
Our letter published in the March 2, 2012, Ridgewood News :
To the editor:
Once again, paving threatens Graydon Pool – not the whole pool this time, but an important part of it.
The Village Council has applied to the County Freeholders for a $60,000 block grant for a concrete ramp leading into the 12-foot section of the swimming area. The ramp, including a $12,600 aluminum handrail drilled into the patio wall, would begin with a long concrete sidewalk at the corner of the bathroom building and cover the sand along the front of the Pavilion. It would circle the north spillway, then make two 90-degree turns before entering the water in a 34-foot stretch along the wall below the patio, ending with a landing platform of a few more feet.
In the grant application – posted at preservegraydon.org – the village cites as a basis for the design "our review and discussions with residents and those who use the facility." Sounds good, but no needs assessment was done. No general discussions with residents were held. And this ill-conceived plan would neither satisfy Graydon patrons nor remove barriers; in fact, it would add some.
The application states that Ridgewood would spend an additional $15,000 in municipal funds on the concrete project. Yet with modern materials and devices, the desired effect could be achieved non-invasively, less expensively and to serve a far broader population.
Allendale's Crestwood Lake, another municipal lake with a sandy beach, meets Americans with Disabilities Act requirements with a beach wheelchair that goes over sand, a floating wheelchair that goes into water and folds flat for storage (http://mobi-chair.com), and removable water-permeable roll-out mats (which Graydon doesn't need).
At Graydon, a floating wheelchair could easily enter the water at the spot near the lap lanes in the 4-foot area where part of the low fieldstone wall has been removed. This shallower area, close to The Stable's about-to-be-upgraded parking lot, would accommodate all ages and abilities, whereas a ramp into the deep end would be harder to reach and suit few or none. In any case, a water-safe wheelchair would have to be bought for water entry; metal wheelchairs are not used on sand or in pools.
Among many other problems: A ramp in the northeast corner would catch detritus floating toward the spillway, creating an unsightly safety hazard. Seniors and others desiring a firm, quick foothold into the water would not choose to traverse a 40-foot ramp. They merely want existing ramps upgraded.
Of likely concern to countless residents, whether Graydon patrons or not, is the large amount of impervious material that would be added to the flood hazard area 12 months a year in a pool used three months a year. Our village engineer noted at a recent meeting that we would never reduce flooding until we stopped paving the floodway. What part of Hurricane Irene don't we understand?
If council members want Graydon kept natural, as four claim they do, and wish to make Graydon more barrier free without exacerbating flooding, they will seek better alternatives and withdraw the application, or if the grant money is offered, refuse it.
Marcia Ringel
Alan Seiden
Co-Chairs, The Preserve Graydon Coalition
For a schematic drawing by the Village engineer, click on the link, then scroll to the next-to-last page:
Ramp grant application (PDF)
Photo slide show: Graydon Pool and Park, Ridgewood, NJ, Summer 2009