State agrees to make parks and beaches more accessible

The state Parks Department has agreed to make state parks and beaches more accessible to the disabled, settling a class-action lawsuit.

Completion could take eleven years and more than $100 million, according to the Chronicle. The state is already planning to make Half Moon Bay State Beach accessible by 2009 and San Gregorio State Beach by 2014. Popular state beaches could offer wheelchair access with rubber walkways on the sand or big-tired beach wheelchairs that work on sand.