Buz and Tammy Rollins of the Mathews Visitor and Information Center are hoping to raise the funds to place a Mobi-mat at Haven Beach to provide access to the beach for people with mobility issues.
A Mobi-mat is a five-foot-wide, semi-rigid mat made of recycled plastic bottles. Mat sections come rolled up in 50-foot lengths that weigh under 70 pounds. They’re installed on top of the sand to make the beach accessible for people in wheelchairs. The mat would go from the edge of the parking lot at Haven Beach straight out 120 feet, with a smaller section parallel to the water for people who want to sit on it.
A member of the visitor center’s board of directors, Buz said he and Tammy are also volunteers at the center. In 2018, while they were on duty, Tammy took a call from someone asking if there were any wheelchair-accessible beaches in Mathews. The answer was “No,” and Buz and Tammy were upset about that and began to do their homework.
What they found was that Mobi-mats are not just a go...