Advocate says state must take further action to create ADA-compliant trails on state-owned property with ‘Forever Wild’ restrictions
By David Escobar
For over 20 years, Scott Remington dreamed of visiting Great Camp Santanoni, a publicly-owned historic site in the town of Newcomb.
The Brant Lake resident is paraplegic and relies on a wheelchair, preventing him from traversing the five miles of trail required to reach the camp.
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This month, Remington, 58, became one of the first to test the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) mobility pilot program, designed to make visits to the remote camp accessible for people with mobility disabilities.
The DEC’s new motorized wheelchair, fitted with four treaded wheels and a bucket seat for rough trails, gave Remington the opportunity he had been waiting for. As he was fitted into the chair, Remington encountered a problem.
“It was not a very easy thing when you can’t use your legs,” Remington said, referring to the difficulty he faced transferring from his wheelchair to the DEC’s mobility device. “It’s not for everybody.”
During the hour-long journey along Santanoni’s scenic trail, Remington said the DEC’s latest accessible devices are not fully inclusive, a concern he anticipated before his trip to Santanoni.
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“A quadriplegic, or somebody who uses a power wheelchair, would never be able to use either of these devices,” Remington said.
Though Remington can operate the wheelchair’s manual controls, he said those with more severe disabilities may not have the dexterity required to operate the DEC’s motorized devices.
“If we want to make it accessible for everybody, we should find a real solution,” Remington said.
DEC’s approach to accessibility
DEC officials have been working toward accessibility accommodations at Great Camp Santanoni for over 20 years. A 2001 court settlement called for the DEC to reassess the preserve’s accessible features, requiring the state to make Santanoni compliant with standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
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According to Leah Akins, DEC’s statewide accessibility coordinator, the decision to incorporate motorized wheelchairs at Santanoni came after years of research and input from accessibility experts.
“While looking at ways to expand access at a site as remote as Great Camp Santanoni, DEC researched whether there are devices that would provide an equivalent type of experience that hikers and bikers currently enjoy,” Akins said in a written statement.
Akins said DEC and Adirondack Park Agency’s (APA) Accessibility Advisory Committee, of which Remington is a committee member, played a key role in shaping the program. She said the committee emphasized the importance of offering people with disabilities the same flexibility, independence and outdoor experiences that others enjoy.
After deliberating on options for visitors with disabilities, Akins said the committee decided to offer an adaptive quadracycle — the motorized wheelchair Remington used — and an electric scooter.
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Akins said public feedback on the program has been largely positive, and participants are encouraged to complete a survey after their trip. She said feedback is crucial to helping the DEC assess how well the devices meet visitors’ needs and where improvements might be made.
Remington said he believes a more permanent and comprehensive solution than the mobility pilot program is needed. He said he has staunchly advocated for an ADA-compliant shuttle service, such as a golf cart with a wheelchair ramp, during committee meetings about Santanoni.
Obstacles to full accessibility
The DEC originally planned to provide an ADA-accessible shuttle for visitors with mobility issues by partnering with Larry Newcombe, a Whitehall farmer who operates a privately-run horse-drawn carriage service for visitors on the Santanoni trail.
The state acquired an ADA-accessible wagon for Newcombe’s horses to pull along the trail. However, Newcombe said was never consulted on the newer, heavier wagon, which he said would be too dangerous to operate on Santanoni’s sloping terrain.
The ADA-accessible horse drawn wagon was intended to comply with Santanoni’s unit management plan, which prohibits motorized vehicles from accessing the great camp. Newcomb Lake Road, which connects Santanoni’s parking area to the historic lodge at Newcomb Lake, is classified as “administrative,” meaning the only automobiles allowed on the road are authorized state vehicles.
Nick Friedman, executive director of Accessible Adirondack Tourism, said the state’s land classification for Santanoni has made it difficult for the DEC to create fully accessible transportation options.
“In order to be ADA compliant, there would have to be violations of the park plan, which forbid motorized vehicles,” he said.
Friedman said the motorized wheelchair and scooter that are part of the DEC’s mobility pilot program offer a way to circumvent these restrictions, but they do not fully solve the problem.
“That’s why this assessment is so important,” Friedman said. “If people say, ‘We don’t want to have to get out of our own wheelchairs. We don’t want to have to switch mobility devices,’ then there may be motivation to work to change the park plan itself.”
Accessibility in ‘Forever Wild’
DEC’s motorized mobility devices at Santanoni represent a unique circumstance within the Adirondack Park. Typically, the agency accommodates visitors with mobility issues by updating facilities to meet federal accessibility standards, such as building accessible hiking trails, fishing platforms and boat launches.
However, Akins said the remoteness of Great Camp Santanoni has made it difficult to provide ADA-compliant infrastructure for visitors.
“DEC could not engineer or build a solution to providing accessibility to the only Adirondack Great Camp under state ownership which is so far into the backcountry,” Akins said.
Despite those hurdles, Meg LeFevre, who serves on the DEC and APA’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, said she believes the DEC’s commitment to making state land more accessible is genuine.
“The Santanoni pilot program is a good cheerleader moment for this work,” said LeFevre, acknowledging that the program’s current form only meets the needs of some people with disabilities. “[The] DEC is considering other ideas for access to Santanoni that have been offered by members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.”
Remington said the DEC’s mobility pilot program at Santanoni is a good first step, but he said the great camp’s lack of ADA compliance underscores broader issues with accessibility in the Adirondacks. He believes state land management agencies like the DEC and APA tend to overlook the needs of people with disabilities in some of their park plans.
“They don’t even look at ways to keep some of it open for somebody that has a disability or has mobility issues,” Remington said.
In response to Remington’s claim, the DEC said it “is continuously working to expand, maintain, and enhance accessible outdoor recreation opportunities in the Adirondacks and throughout the state.” A DEC spokesperson pointed to the department’s new interactive online map, which lists over 260 outdoor recreation locations with accessible features across the state.
As the DEC continues to explore ways to improve access at the great camp, Remington said he hopes that one day all visitors, regardless of mobility, will be able to experience the beauty of Santanoni.
David Escobar is a Report For America Corps Member. He reports on diversity issues in the Adirondacks through a partnership between North Country Public Radio and Adirondack Explorer.
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A complicated problem. In my opinion, if people would rather not transfer to a different device, the old method of the horse-drawn wagon seems to make the most sense – although electric power would likely be a better option if a variance can be worked out to allow it. That way multiple “wagons/vehicles” could be used without the need for large numbers of horses, which can be rough on a trail.
Regardless of conveyance type, logistics – including drivers and staff available to transfer people to devices or wagons – seems likely to be problematic. A low or high volume of users could easily derail any plan. Would it be by appointment/reservation? Just weekends or specific dates? Seasonality? Emergency transport? Liability? Or is it better to pave the trail and place the burden on users to supply their own conveyance?
Of course, these issues would not be unique to Santanoni. Once instituted at Santanoni, what access would then be expected at other sites, and who would ultimately oversee these decisions? Will more APA land use classifications need to be developed to allow ADA-type access while maintaining wild character for others? All interesting questions.
As I age, less of the forever wild, constitutionally protected Forest Preserve is physically accessible to me than it once was. I will increasingly “access” those heights or miles I can no longer physically access through memory. Polls tell us that persons of all abilities, the vast proportion, do not wish to erode wilderness laws or constitutions or State Land Plan guidelines and limits on motorized uses, as at Santanoni. The more mechanized places like Santanoni become, the less it contrasts with the rest of the world. Folks of all abilities value wilderness for its contrast, rarity, its quietude, its naturalness, its challenge – and adapt.
Why can’t DEC allow automobile traffic on this forest preserve travel way the same way that they do for the 7 wealthy families that drive on an altered extension of Lens Lake Road in Stony Creek across forest preserve to the Livingston Lake Club in Day, NY.
Day tax map shows no road. Day supervisor stated in writing that they are unaware of a road at this remote location.
So the best way for people to remain in their personal mobility devices would be to build accessible ramps to the height of Mr. Newcombe’s existing wagon, at the beginning and at the end of the road. Install lock-down clips on his wagon like are used on buses. Now visitors with mobility issues c would be able to stay in their own chair, move onto and off of the wagon on their own, and ride with everyone else along the way to the Great Camp. Togetherness, equal access, and reasonable accommodation.
But is one wagon/team enough if usage increases?