City of Port Phillip trials new motorised recreational wheelchair at St Kilda Beach

City of Port Phillip is undertaking an eight-week motorised beach wheelchair trial at St Kilda Beach with the wheelchair available for hire from the St Kilda Life Saving Club.

The chair will be on-site from Saturday 11th February, and the trial itself will assist us to review the feasibility of making the chair a permanent fixture.

During the trial users will be asked to provide optional feedback about their experience and suggest improvement for the service.

Use of the motorised beach wheelchair is free and last for 1.5 hours. Booking in advance is essential and can only be made during lifesaving patrol times over weekends.

The City notes “we believe that everyone should be able to enjoy our beautiful foreshore and we’re committed to providing accessibility supports, such as the motorised beach wheelchair, to make that a reality for all community members.

“Because of the motorised function of the wheelchair, carer supervision is not required. But it never hurts to bring a friend or two to the beach with you.

“The motorised wheelchair is just one of many programs we run to make our beaches more accessible, we also have an accessible beach wheelchair that can enter the water, beach matting and more.”