A wheelchair-accessible beach overlook is proposed for Hilton Head. Here’s where
When Ken and Kathy Carlozzi were growing up on Long Island, they flocked to the ocean beaches to enjoy days at the water.
When the couple, then in their late 50s, moved to Hilton Head Island in 2007, nothing changed. The pair would spend entire afternoons at the beach with their dog and a crowd of eight grandchildren.
That all changed in 2017, when Kathy was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
She started to use a wheelchair to get around, and Ken noticed there was nowhere on the island where she could sit in the shade and enjoy the beach, much less where they could sit together without blocking traffic on Hilton Head’s blue beach matting.
“For someone who uses a wheelchair, an accident victim or military veteran, there’s no way for them to enjoy the beach,” Ken said.
On trips to the Mayo Clinic in Florida, the pair spent down time traipsing the coast and watching the waves roll in under a pavilion at the beach. They agreed: Hilton Head needed one.
Together, they started to talk to friends and neighbors about how to build a structure at one of the island’s public beaches. They sent letters to the mayor and dreamed of the possibility together.
In June, Kathy died. She had just celebrated her 70th birthday.
Ken ramped up his efforts to bring the wheelchair-accessible addition to the island.
“When she passed away, I revived my effort even though she won’t be here to see it,” he said. “I want to see it through as her legacy.”
The pavilion he imagines would provide shaded space for at least five people who use wheelchairs and their caregivers to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean. He said he imagines the structure at Islanders Beach Park near the The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa.
The project, presented to the public planning committee on Thursday, received resounding support from the town council members there. Tamara Becker, who represents the ward that includes Islanders Beach Park, said she saw ”value all over this project.”
She said the pavilion exemplifies the town’s comprehensive plan goals to make its environment more accessible to all.
On an island known as a premier retirement destination where one in three residents is over 60, the project would be the first public place where people who use wheelchairs could separate from the boardwalk and blue beach mats to take in the view of the ocean.
The committee endorsed the project and sent the proposal to Town Manager Steve Riley. Committee chair David Ames said he thinks the town can design a public/ private partnership to fund the structure.
Ken Carlozzi estimates the pavilion would cost around $50,000. He said he’s garnered some support and is considering a fundraiser for the project.
No matter how it’s created, Carlozzi said he hopes to create the overlook to make life easier for generations of people who use wheelchairs and their caregivers.
Even if his sweetheart won’t be here to see it.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
