FARMVILLE – High Bridge Trail State Park is widening accessibility at the already accessible park by becoming only the second state park in Virginia to offer a policy for use of golf carts by the disabled and others with significant mobility challenges.

The park's manager Eric Hougland said Monday that he and Virginia State Parks director Joe Elton decided last week to allow applications for golf cart use to be considered for High Bridge Trail State Park.

The only state park where golf carts are currently permitted, he said, is New River Trail, also a converted abandoned Norfolk Southern rail bed.

Meanwhile, wheelchairs, both motorized and manual, are allowed on the trail any time the trail is open, as are motorized scooters. High Bridge Trail State Park is handicap accessible, Hougland said.

“The trail is accessible. We have seen people with electric wheelchairs, electric scooters and standard wheelchairs enjoy the trail, enjoy the bridge,” he said, adding that efforts are underway to increase accessibility even further.

Accessibility at the park-and there appears to be some public confusion on this issue-was discussed during last Wednesday's June Farmville Town Council work session, where council member Dr. Edward I. Gordon said he was applying to use a golf cart and hoped other disabled persons would do so too.

Hougland said Monday that disabled persons can, as Dr. Gordon is doing, apply to use a golf cart at High Bridge Trail State Park.

“It's funny how timing works out. Just last week Joe Elton and I were having a conversation about this issue and decided we would go ahead and put the same process in place that we have at New River Trail,” Hougland told The Herald.

“Yes, yes,” he said when asked if other disabled persons could apply to use a golf cart at High Bridge Trail State Park. “We, as an agency, are finalizing the form, the application, the permit, the conditions, those kinds of things, which will be the same as New River Trail, just the wording needed to be adjusted for High Bridge Trail.”

Those granted golf cart privileges at New River or High Bridge do not have permission to use them at other state parks, Hougland said.

“No, not at this time,” he said, when asked if permission at one of those two parks would transfer to any other Virginia state park. “The applications are specific to New River Trail and High Bridge Trail.”

There is a Department of Conservation and Recreation application for golf cart use at state parks but the form indicates it is for one-time use at a specific park on a specific day and time, the application asking specifically for the date and time, even the hours of use, from what time to what time.

That form offers a temporary one-time permission but not 365-day permission at any or all state parks.

Hougland said, “There is not an overall state park policy (on golf carts). Virginia State Parks, as well as other outdoor recreation agencies, have been waiting on a ruling by the federal government for some time on how to deal with accessibility on trails. And as you can imagine trails come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, lengths, grades, all of those things, so how it's addressed at one trail may be different at another.”

The golf cart authorizations that were given at New River Trail, according to Hougland, were prior to any federal ruling.

“They were intended as a temporary measure until a ruling was made. Because the decision has come down from the Department of Justice the agency has been working with the attorney general's office on creating a policy for our state park trails. This is agency-wide, not just High Bridge Trail and New River Trail,” Hougland explained.

A policy of criteria and how assessments are done was drafted and sent to the attorney general's office. The AG's office has replied with some comments and those comments are being addressed. Once those comments are addressed the policy will go back to the attorney general's office for final approval.

“So we do not have a final approval of a policy on how to address what is termed as 'other power-driven mobility devices,'” he said.

Has anyone been told by High Bridge Trail State Park that they cannot bring their wheelchair at any time that the park is open?

“Absolutely not,” Hougland said.

What about a golf cart?

“They have been told that we are not permitting golf carts because we do not have that policy. That temporary measure was intended for New River Trail because there had been no ruling before that process had been put in place,” he said.

But now applications will be accepted for golf cart use at High Bridge Trail State Park.

The Department of Conservation's state park website promotes the healthful affects of using Virginia's state parks and their trails and directly addresses “Personal Mobility on Trails,” stating that “effective March 15, 2011, these trails will be open to wheelchairs, including manual and power wheelchairs, personal mobility assistive scooters and certain other similar devices designed primarily to assist people with disabilities.”

Hougland said, “no (that statement is not carte blanche for golf carts). That is for devices that fit the definition of a wheelchair and we have always allowed electric wheelchairs, electric scooters on High Bridge Trail.

“And for comments to be made that High Bridge Trail is not accessible is not accurate. High Bridge Trail is accessible. Unfortunately, our main attraction (High Bridge, itself) is inconvenient and it's a frustration for our guests, it's a frustration for us,” Hougland said.

“We have both long-range and short-range plans to improve that. One of our short-range ways to deal with that is escorting the groups to the end of High Bridge. We realize that's not a perfect solution but at least it helps get some folks down to High Bridge who want to see it. Long-range solutions are nearby parking but those require time, design, money for construction, construction, and so forth,” the park's manager explained.

But there are escorted tours for those who cannot access the state park and its bridge any other way.

“On the second and fourth Thursday of each month we set aside those days for group escorts to High Bridge so a group could call the park and request a trip on those particular days and we schedule that. Ideally, a group is 10 or more people and it's available for groups of senior citizens or people with disabilities to give them the ability to get to the end of High Bridge and eliminate the one-mile or so walk from our closest access point at River Road,” he said.

“Again, we realize that's not a perfect solution,” Hougland stressed, “but we're just attempting to provide a way for people to enjoy the main attraction of the park.”