New trail in Montgomery emphasizes sensory stimulation for visually impaired people

Downtown Montgomery has become more accessible with the addition of a new sensory trail, which visitors can explore beginning July 30.

The Montgomery Lions Club is a branch of Lions Club International. The humanitarian organization focuses on youth programs, preserving sight, and helping other charities help those in need.

The group has created a new segment of the Riverfront Greenway Trail called the Montgomery Lions Club Children’s Sensory Trail. The trail, which focuses on visually impaired youth, engages the senses with bright flowers, ropes to assist walking and interactive percussion instruments.

Alisa Beck, first vice president of the Montgomery Lions Club, said the plan for this trail has been in the works for several years.

“The city of Montgomery came to our club a couple years ago in 2017 and asked us to partner with them. They had received a federal grant and wanted to partner with us to get some additional funding so that we could create a portion of the trail, which is a connector trail from the Greenway trail on the river and now leads to the Freedom Sculpture Park which is part of EJI,” Beck explained. “And it basically took a sleepy little section of the river and connected those two pieces so that people could stay on a trail. But it also gave accessibility for people who are visually impaired, even people who need wheelchair access.”

The Children’s Sensory Trail is part of the Riverfront Greenway Project. When completed, the project will be a multi-use path connecting Maxwell Air Force Base to several points in the area, including Shady Street Park, Montgomery Whitewater, Wright Brothers Park, Riverfront Park and Riverwalk Stadium.

“When I came to the (Riverfront Greenway) Project, the intent was to create walking trails from Maxwell Air Base Boulevard all the way to the Capitol Oyster Bar. And if you’ve ever been to Montgomery, you know that’s quite a distance, and it hasn’t been a usable stretch of riverfront for many, many years,” Beck said. “So now this gives access to the Riverfront, so people can have walking trails through nature, but also be able to walk to downtown businesses, have bike lanes and just make it a much more family-friendly user experience.”

She explained that there aren’t many accessible areas for people with visual impairments in the Riverfront area, but the trail is also wheelchair accessible.

“There’s not really a part of the Riverfront that’s accessible to people with disabilities. So this actually has some guided rope walks. It has a park with some musical instruments that you can play and create your own unique sound and maybe even get together with other people. And it’s just a really fun way to interact, to create sounds,” Beck said.

Beck said the trail is also accessible for wheelchair users and people with visual impairments.

“But there’s also a nice walking path. So even for those who aren’t visually impaired and might need wheelchair access, this offers that to them as well, and it just provides a walkable route to the riverfront so they can experience it in ways they haven’t been able to before, and we thought that was really important,” she continued.

The Montgomery Lions Club Children’s Sensory Trail preview event is scheduled for July 30 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Lafayette Street Entrance. The event is free. For more information, visit the Montgomery Lions Club website.