‘No one should be turned away’: Family ramp up efforts for wheelchair access at Safety Beach

Victorian beaches are beloved across the world — but some locals are being turned away without access to the sand. Now, a mum and son are putting pressure on a local council to make a change.

A determined mother is demanding a Victorian council deliver an accessibility ramp at a popular beachfront after years of being forced to carry her adult son up and down “dangerous” stairs to get him to the sand.

Vivian Jankovski and her family’s annual trip to Safety Beach became more than just summer-holiday fun but a source of “freedom” for youngest son Ben after a serious car accident in 2017 left him paraplegic.

While the 24-year-old has since adapted to life in a wheelchair and been named captain of Collingwood Football Club’s Wheelchair squad, he says a simple trip to his favourite beach has become “virtually impossible”.

Vivian Jankovski and her son Ben are pushing for wheelchair access at Safety Beach. Picture: Ian Currie

This is despite the beach having accessible parking bays — even though those with mobility issues have no direct way to access the sand close by.

Mr Jankovski’s 54-year-old mother has had to carry the sportsman down stairs for the past seven years, tediously balancing with him in her arms as she makes the climb.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this for,” Ms Jankovski said.

“My bigger concern now is falling – I don’t want to hurt either of us.”

For Mr Jankovski, the lack of a ramp continues to cost him his independence as a wheelchair user.

“Relying on my parents to bring me down on the sand is not only dangerous but also disheartening for me because all I want as something with a disability is to be independent,” Mr Jankovski said.

“I’d hope to be a father one day and the thought of playing with my children on the beach seems not possible right now.”

Vivian carries her son Ben down to the beach. Picture: Ian Currie

Ms Jankovski has been working alongside Mornington Peninsula Council for years to get the ramp across the line, and was thrilled when plans were approved and $415,000 allocated for the build in the 2023-24 budget.

But the mother and her son were left perplexed when they arrived for summer break and there was no ramp to be seen.

“This is not only about Safety Beach, and this is not only about Ben,” Ms Jankovski said.

“No one should have to be turned away from any beach.

“We have so many old people who have not seen the beach in years that sit in the caravan park, we have mums with prams that can’t access the beach, mobility issues, frames.”

Ms Jankovski was told council had gone “back to the drawing board” after the intended site for the ramp — directly behind the public toilets — was “deemed unstable”.

Mornington Peninsula council mayor Anthony Marsh maintained the accessible ramp project was “well underway”, and said work should be completed by the end of June.

Mornington Peninsula Council did not construct the ramp after budgeting for it last year. Picture: Ian Currie

Until then, he directed those with mobility users to an access ramp 420m down the road, next to the Safety Beach Sailing Club car park.

“We are currently refining the detailed design before putting it out to tender,” he said.

“The ramp will be installed next to the accessible carparking at the Victoria Street boat ramp.

“Ensuring our beautiful beaches can be enjoyed by everyone is a priority for Council.”

Ms Jankovski feared traffic at the new site — next to the accessibility parking bays at the Victoria Street boat ramp — would pose danger to wheelchair users and urged council to reconsider her original proposition.

An online petition for the ramp has already been signed by more than 1600 people — and Ms Jankovski plans to keep the momentum going until her son can make his way down to the beach on his own.

“It’s very important, especially people with mobility issues, to feel that freedom in the water,” Ms Jankovski said.

“That’s not a physical feeling — it’s a mental feeling, it’s an emotional feeling.

“They’re the silent things that we take for granted.”