Driving Mobility and Accessibility on Public Lands Grant

The Park Board of Trustees of the City of Galveston plans to increase accessibility for guests with disabilities at R.A. Apffel Beach Park by adding new accessible parking areas, installing signage to highlight accessibility features, and improving beach access by installing at least 500 linear feet of Mobi-Mat pathways.

Grant funds will help convert an eroding and rutted dirt-and-gravel path into a stable concrete pathway connecting the parking lot and comfort station with the 0.9-mile trail around Bass Lake on the Blue Ridge Parkway's Moses Cone Memorial Estate.

Amigos de los Rios and partner Hearts for Sight will create a universally accessible public nature path in front of the Emerald Necklace Santa Fe Computer Science Magnet Academy, a public middle school in Monrovia, California. Students will help create universal access Braille Trail interpretive elements to demonstrate what public resources for sighted and disabled communities should look like to ensure equitable outdoor spaces.

NPS ranger-led programs using assistive technology will be developed and offered at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and two assistive chairs will be purchased and retained in the park for use by the public in each district of Tennessee/North Carolina.

Grant funding will be used to integrate accessibility into Phinizy Swamp Nature Park's trail system by converting its most popular boardwalk and observation deck into an accessible trail.

Grant funding will be used to install assistive listening devices in the theater, exhibit room, Pollinator Plaza, and Cactus Garden at the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center and to create inclusive content for these devices to include audio and image descriptions for the exhibits and park film. The park will also upgrade all website content to ensure 508 compliance and promote a more informative and inclusive visitor experience both physically and digitally.

Grant funds will be used to install five park benches along the popular Mica View Trails, which were built according to the tenets of universal inclusive design—featuring paved parking lots with multiple 8-foot parking spaces, accessible egress from the lot to the hardened surface trails, and universally designed toilets, garbage cans, picnic areas, shade structures, and educational features for self-guided exploration.

Grant funding will be used to build an accessible trail along the ravine in Buttermilk Creek Park, a pristine natural environment along Buttermilk Creek in the downtown area of the city of Montague.

This project will transform Traverse City's old coal dock, currently a gravel lot, into a barrier-free public park with green space, new fishing area railings—40% of which will be at a lower level for people who use wheelchairs—universally accessible shelters and picnic areas, an outdoor classroom and event pavilion. An adaptive kayak launch will also be installed during a subsequent phase of this project.

The new BORP kayaking program will provide the only adaptive kayaking opportunity in the city of Berkeley, California. This project will establish a regular seasonal program of 10 adaptive kayaking days from May through September 2023 for people with disabilities from the greater Bay Area along with their companions.

The Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC) is working with local advocacy groups to increase accessibility and programs at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park by reviewing trail descriptions throughout the park to better identify and describe accessibility levels as well as making the park's website more accessible. In addition, grant funds will be used to increase access to the park's Community Science Office by building a universally-accessible ramp, modifying the entrance, and adding an adjustable desk/workspace.

Grant funds will be used to install a universally accessible boat launch at River Bends Park, a publicly funded recreational area. This will involve creating an accessible route from the parking lot to the launch gangway and installing an “EZ Launch” floating boat launch which exceeds ADA compliance.

Grant funds will go toward the purchase of a Terrain Hopper all-terrain mobility device for people with disabilities to share on selected trails during Trail Access Project's organized and escorted small group hiking events on rougher terrain, including trails in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Grant funds will go toward the purchase and installation of modern and accessibly designed playground equipment and connectivity features, including the Alta Glide Inclusive Glider with an accessible ramp.

This project will create a universally accessible kayak launch within the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary (RMBS), allowing access and further connectivity for adaptive paddle sports to the Mississippi River Water Trail (MRWTA). In partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Audubon Center at Riverlands (ACR), this project will fund a gangway, dock, and launch to add inclusive opportunities to these organization's combined programs and events. 

Each project will receive up to $20,000 and must be completed within 12 months. For more information about the funding opportunities from NEEF and its partners, please visit the Grants section of NEEF's website.