LINCOLN CITY, Ore. — Anybody can get to the Oregon Coast. Nobody experiences it the same.
“What we strive to do is try to make Lincoln City and the coast as accessible as possible for everyone,” said Cole Finley, marketing manager for Explore Lincoln City. “It’s such a unique and beautiful, colorful place.”
On Wednesday at Knight Park, Explore Lincoln City hosted a special reveal.
“We invited three individuals who are colorblind to come out, test the glasses,” said Finley. He’s referring to a new color accessibility program started by Lincoln City.
The city partnered with eyewear company EnChroma, which makes color vision glasses for people with colorblindness. Jake Bowers, of Sheridan, Oregon, was one of the participants who saw vibrant colors for the first time.
“Everything kind of pops more … a lot more definition to it,” he said. “The flowers over here look a lot brighter to me, and then, the sky looks much bluer.”
Nine pairs of glasses varying in size and colorblindness type are available at the Lincoln City Community Center for anyone to borrow, beginning on Monday, June 10. It's the first program of its kind in Oregon.
“I'm actually wearing a pair myself,” Finley said. “I'm colorblind myself, so it's a really special and unique thing to be able to experience.”
Finley added he first tried on the glasses a couple weeks ago. It was special to see others experience color vision for the first time.
“Being able to connect with someone who has an understanding and give them the opportunity to be able to see the colors as they should be seen is really special for not just for me but special for our organization and our city,” he said.
Folks who want to check out a pair of glasses will need to put down a credit card, and it's recommended you take a colorblind test first.
That’s not the only accessibility program Lincoln City is rolling out to the public. At Taft Waterfront Park, blue Mobi-mats stretch across the sand.
“It's an accessible pathway for people to be able to access the beach and ocean,” said Lincoln City Parks and Recreation director Jeanne Sprague. “It's simply for someone that might have trouble walking on soft sand. It's for strollers, it's for people that may use canes, it's for wheelchairs. It's just makes it easier for people to get out to the ocean.”
There is a total of 750 feet of Mobi-mats at four beach access points around town. Taft also has three “big-wheeled” wheelchairs for check-out at no cost. Users unlock the chairs with a smartphone app and lock it back up when they’re done.
Phyllis Griswold is coming up on her 97th birthday. She was visiting Lincoln City from Woodinville, Washington, with her daughter, Mary Heidt.
“It's a beautiful day on the coast, beautiful day today,” said Griswold, who used to live in Oregon.
“It was really easy on the blue mat,” Heidt said. “I was surprised, and it was surprisingly easy.”
Tracie Kahut and her family were thrilled to use the mat and chair as well.
“This is huge. My son has a terminal condition with a short life expectancy,” she said. “When they put this in, it's been huge for his mobility.”
The Mobi-mats are saltwater resistant and are made of 100% recycled polyester. The city has plans to roll out more mats at more locations.
“Just being able to get out as a family and include our son who can no longer walk and participate in daily activities is amazing,” Kahut said. “This means everything to us.”
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