Dock helps those with mobility issues enjoy lake

One of the province’s first fully accessible floating docks was officially launched on Saturday, and to show just how it works a local resident rolled his wheelchair across it’s ramp to board a pontoon boat.

A local organization called Friends of Rivers Lake held a ribbon cutting this weekend to introduce the newly installed dock at Daly Beach, across from Rivers Provincial Park on Lake Wahtopanah (also known as the Rivers Reservoir).

The dock was installed in pieces during the last year, but its grand opening this weekend officially improved access to people with many kinds of mobility issues, from people in wheelchairs to seniors with health concerns.

“We felt by providing a bigger, safer dock to access the water, we would make sport fishing available longer to this group of people,” the organization’s president Lorne Green said.

“It was also brought to our attention that there may be lots of people of all ages who need access to a boat who are currently in a wheelchair, or their lack of mobility severely restricts their ability to access their boat.”

The dock’s features include bumper rails along the edges, benches, a rubber mat lead-up to allow wheelchairs to roll on from the sand, a surface built from metals that can be used by a wheelchair, and a folding ramp that forms a bridge from the dock to a boat.

The structure cost about $80,000, Green said in August 2024, paid for by grants and about $15,000 to $20,000 by the Friends of Rivers Lake organization. Green had previously told the Sun that the group received about $67,000 in funding from the grant.

Green was not able to be reached on Sunday for a comment about whether that cost had changed since last August.

The project also improved the surrounding area. Cement pads have been installed underneath benches and picnic benches to provide a place to sit, and the boat launch has been improved, Green had previously said.

More than a year of work led up to Saturday when area resident Jeremy Bray used his wheelchair to demonstrate how the dock could be used to board a pontoon boat, to the applause of the crowd.

Last year, Jeremy’s father Darren said it was going to be a big benefit for the family, one that he considers personal.

“We regularly use our pontoon boat on (the lake) and are excited to finally have an accessible public dock for my son to use,” Darren Bray said last year. “Ensuring Rivers’ lake is accessible to all is a cause close to my heart.”

Riverdale mayor Heather Lamb cheered on the local organization, as she said this project is one of the province’s first fully accessible floating docks. She said it was leadership towards inclusion.

“This is a very proud moment,” Lamb said. “This is a tremendous step forward in making outdoor spaces welcome to everyone.”

The dock is painted with a signature blue wheelchair symbol, however it was customized to depict a person holding a fishing rod.

Support for the project came from various businesses and agencies, including the Fish and Wildlife Enhacement Fund and the Rivers and Area Community foundation. Donations were also received from the community and local businesses.

Anyone who purchases fishing or hunting licenses in the province helps contribute to projects like this, according to a spokesperson from the Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund.

»cmcdowell@brandonsun.com, with files from Sofia Frolova