Questions raised about ocean pool accessibility around Wollongong

Adventurer Jenny Frappell has spent months recovering in a wheelchair and then a knee-scooter after a badly broken foot left her incapacitated.

The normally able-bodied woman and surf life saver took to ocean pools as part of her rehab but began to find flaws, especially with Woonona pool which has three steps leading up to disabled toilets.

"The push back up the hill is challenging because it's quite steep ... but the toilet situation you can't go as they are up about two or three steps," she told the Mercury.

"I can get up one step on the knee scooter, that's doable, but it's a bit different to do three steps."

In the 2021 Census, it was counted 14,453 people with a need for assistance lived in the Wollongong City Council area. Despite this, Mrs Frappell warned mobility could be taken away from anyone at any time.

"I am a lot more empathetic to people who have to navigate this way of life day in, day out," she said. "It's really quite difficult to get around ... it's been challenging and you've got to think about where you're going for restaurants and things and accessibility."

Earlier in January there were reports a pool-goer in a wheelchair had to be helped back up the steps at Woonona ocean pool due to the steepness of the ramp, while elderly swimmer Patricia Klaus also needed assistance by strangers to get back up the hill.

After airing her story on social media, Mrs Klaus told the Mercury her plight wasn't about getting herself to the pool it was about getting "safe access for disabled people" at Woonona.

A spokeswoman for Wollongong Council said they were focused on ways to improve accessibility around the city and welcomed feedback, though there was no work scheduled for the immediate future.

"Amenities at Port Kembla and Austinmer have, in recent years, been upgraded to include accessible change rooms with an adult lift and change table," she said.

"[But] we will be reviewing potential accessibility projects across all of Council's nine ocean rock pools."

As Mrs Frappell began to see the world with a new perspective, she traveled to other ocean pools around the area to critique just how accessible they were.

Bellambi and Port Kembla were found to have the easiest accessibility, she said, while Bulli wasn't great as there was "no real nice way down from the car" and sand along the path down caused havoc for wheels.

Thirroul Pool also passed the pub test for accessibility in Mrs Frappell's eyes though at her home surf club of Sandon Point she realised a "beautiful new ramp" installed 10 years ago leads most of the way to the beach but a flight of stairs has to be navigated to get the bottom including the toilets.

Next Mrs Frappell tried the Continental Pool in Wollongong and found it to be "well setup" though people would have to park quite a distance away and the disabled toilet is often locked.

Wollongong Council's spokeswoman said there were plans to "look at improvements" to the Continental Pool facility, which is almost 100 years old, though there were no plans for Sandon Point Surf Life Saving Club.

She encouraged people to give feedback on the council's Infrastructure Delivery program before April to assist in planning and design for the future.

Wollongong Council has a guide to accessibility of their services like pools, beaches, playgrounds, libraries and other community facilities. Found here: Disability Access Guide | Wollongong City Council (nsw.gov.au)