The whir of electric motors was almost drowned out by the sound of eight tires from two terrain mobility vehicles driving along a trail near the Bear Creek Nature Center.
The two mobility vehicles, TerrainHopper’s Overland 4ZS, are part of El Paso County’s attempts to make public parks more accessible to everyone. One of the vehicles was donated by the Independence Center, a civil rights advocacy group that focuses on the disabled community.
Called “trailability” by El Paso County, the program celebrated an official launch with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday. Though there were no scissors as the two terrain mobility vehicles, one green the other blue, barreled through the ribbon and on to the trails outside of the Bear Creek Nature Center.
“This is an exciting day for El Paso County,” District 4 county commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. said. “Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony is an important opportunity to measure our accomplishments and celebrate our successes when it comes to ensuring all residents have access to fair and equitable access … to all El Paso County has to offer.”
The program was initiated in January of this year, after the El Paso County community services department announced a trail access program. During the Jan. 25 meeting, commissioners were presented with a $25,000 check from The Independence Center, which helped fund the purchase of the mobility vehicles.
One man, Jeremy Chatelain − a former board member of The Independence Center − was very happy to see the program officially kick off.
Chatelain is paralyzed from the neck down. Before that, he said his family would go on all sorts of camping trips, hiking trips and take full advantage of the great outdoors. However, after becoming paralyzed, that was something he couldn’t do any longer.
About one year ago, he purchased an all terrain mobility vehicle and said the changes it made for him were “indescribable.”
“The freedom is indescribable,” he said. “And, in addition, to the freedom, just to be able to be with my family, to go with them.”
He recalled a moment when he was out with his family and his son called out to him to take a look at a large tree. Chatelain had never been able to just go over to where his son was before finding the terrain mobility vehicle.
“But in the TerrainHopper, I just drove it right down,” he said. “No more having to sit on the sidelines of life.”
According to Brian Olson, El Paso County’s executive director of facilities and strategic infrastructure management, they are one of the first to offer a program like this.
The program and two terrain vehicles, allow everyone with limited mobility better access to El Paso County’s parks and trails. The TerrainHopper 4ZS used by the county has 10 inches of ground clearance and is waterproof up to the top of the wheels.
For Olson, the importance of the program goes beyond the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“El Paso County takes our commitment to ADA very seriously,” he said. “Not because it’s the law, but because it’s the right thing to do.”
Over several years, Olson said the county has taken several steps to enhance access and break down some of the barriers that have prevented equal access to some city and county services. A list of corrected barriers can be found on El Paso County’s ADA webpage, where a living document of barriers is kept.
Olson said he hopes to see a number of smiling faces as the Overlanders get used by community members. This was echoed by Gonzalez.
“I think people who might have had some difficulty with access, are going to enjoy this a lot,” he said. “And I’m just very proud that we’re able to bring some joy and greater access to our outdoors and open space.”
There are two Overlander vehicles that can be reserved. One is located at the Bear Creek Nature Center, and the other is at the Fountain Creek Nature Center. Reservations for the vehicles are now being accepted.
Reservations must be made seven days in advance, and are three hours in length. To make a reservation, head to the trailability website and select the location you wish to travel in.