Re. the wheelchairs - this is actually part of a much larger capital project (year 4 of 5) to make our living history village as accessible as possible to visitors with disabilities. As part of this, we have already purchased two all-terrain wheelchairs which we loan to visitors. These chairs will go over anything! At 08:49 AM 10/10/1997 -0700, you wrote: >Isn't there some kind of rough gravelly-like coating that could be >applied to the wood that would make it less slippery? Do wheelchairs >also use the same paths? Any problems maneuvering over rough sawn lumber >in a wheelchair? > > >Thomas A. Reitz wrote: >> >> For all you living history sites, nature centres, arboreta and similar >> outdoor facilities ... we're in the process of replacing wood boardwalks >> that snake through our living history village. These are unpainted, >> untreated wood surfaces and our plan is to use rough sawn lumber. >> >> One of the concerns that has been raised by staff and visitors is that when >> the wood surface gets worn down and then wet from rain or snow, they are >> very slippery. In the winter, we shovel and throw down a de-icer. But >> when the wood is wet from rain, there doesn't seem to be a lot we can do. >> >> We don't want to afix rubberized treads because not only will they look >> dreadful, they have a habit of being pulled up and then cause a tripping >> hazard. And we don't want to throw down sand because it will get tracked >> into the historic buildings. >> >> Has anyone confronted this and how have you dealt with it? Would >> appreciate suggestions. >> >> Thomas A. Reitz >> Manager/Curator >> Doon Heritage Crossroads >> R.R. #2 >> Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5 >> Canada >> >> Telephone: 519-748-1439 ext 227 >> Fax: 519-748-0009 >> Email: [log in to unmask] >> http: www.region.waterloo.on.ca/doon > > Thomas A. Reitz Manager/Curator Doon Heritage Crossroads R.R. #2 Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5 Canada Telephone: 519-748-1439 ext 227 Fax: 519-748-0009 Email: [log in to unmask] http: www.region.waterloo.on.ca/doon