St. Thomas Skyride

[Travel_World]

I checked the possibility of going on the Skyride in St. Thomas with a wheelchair and got a very imformative email from the Marketing Director that I thought I would share with everyone. Here is the email:

 

Greetings from St.Thomas!

 

Like any ski lift, everything here is built on the hillside and requires going up and down to various levels.

Access from the street is by stairs only. There are about 30 stairs leading to the loading platform.

There is a secure area at the bottom to store strollers, chairs and scooters.

 

Upon reaching the top, there are several staircases leading down to the shops, bar and cafe at Paradise Point.'

 

The Skyride is accessible from the top station. If you really want to take the Skyride, you can arrange with a taxi to take you to the top

station of the Skyride where you can ride down and back up, and then return down the hill by taxi.

You would need a smaller folding chair to do this and you would be responsible for the transfers in and out of the vehicle and the chair , as well as

pushing the portable chair in and out of the lift.

The taxi would need to contact us first for permission to drive up the hill and to get the gate code to access the hill.

 

Or if you want to see the view from Paradise Point, you can arrange with a taxi to drive you up and down the hill.

You would be on the observation deck level with access to the bar, cafe, 2 shops and restrooms.You would need

a folding chair to do this and you would be responsible for the transfers in and out of the vehicle and the chair.

Again, the taxi would need to contact us first for permission to drive up the hill and to get the gate code to access the hill.

 

On this small island, very few taxis have lifts to carry scooters and electric chairs.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Pam Balash

Marketing Director

[gram2trips]

That is good to know. My husband uses a power chair when we cruise & when I had looked into it I was basically told he was "out of luck". But due to hurricaine Earl we couldn't go to St Thomas so I will keep this in mind for the next time.

[Micmac]

Thanks for the info! I would have never thought about doing this in the reverse!!!

[runnerandme]

Thanks..good idea of just going to the top in a taxi and meeting the group up there,

[tommcdon]

Wait a minute...what is with the "that's good to know" and "thanks for the info" replies. The US Virgin Islands are a territory of the US. This response by the marketing director and sorry-butt explanation for the lack of access for those who are in need of elevators and ramps would be, duh, unacceptable in the States - VIOLATION.

 

These people are not running a business that my family will ever visit again. Upon our visit, we found animals in the zoo that had no water, as well as other areas of neglect. St Thomas Skyride to Paradise Point is owned by Tramcon, per their website - sttparadisepoint.com/. Tramcon is listed at the bottom of the Home webpage. Check out the link below ordering them to rectify the problem regarding accessibility. The date of order is at the bottom of the link. As of August, 2011 no elevators and no ramps. Why bother? Go to Mountain Top on the west end of the island.

 

http://www.ada.gov/tramcon.htm

[tommcdon]

Wait a minute...what is with the "that's good to know" and "thanks for the info" replies. The US Virgin Islands are a territory of the US. This response by the marketing direrctor and sorry-butt explanation for the lack of access for those who are in need of elevators and ramps would be, duh, unacceptable in the States - VIOLATION.

 

These people are not running a business that my family will ever visit again. Upon our visit, we found animals in the zoo that had no water, as well as other areas of neglect. St Thomas Skyride to Paradise Point is owned by Tramcon, per their website - sttparadisepoint.com/. Tramcon is at the bottom of the Home webpage. Check out the link below ordering them to rectify the problem regarding accessibility. The date of order is at the bottom of the link. As of August, 2011 no elevators and ramps. Why bother? Go to Mountain Top on the west end of the island.

 

http://www.ada.gov/tramcon.htm

[tommcdon]

Thanks for your post and, to the replies below: Wait a minute...what is with the "that's good to know" and "thanks for the info" replies. The US Virgin Islands are a territory of the US. This response by the marketing direrctor and sorry-butt explanation for the lack of access for those who are in need of elevators and ramps would be, duh, unacceptable in the States - VIOLATION.

 

These people are not running a business that my family will ever visit again. Upon our visit, we found animals in the zoo that had no water, as well as other areas of neglect. St Thomas Skyride to Paradise Point is owned by Tramcon, per their website - sttparadisepoint.com/. Tramcon is at the bottom of the Home webpage. Check out the link below ordering them to rectify the problem regarding accessibility. The date of order is at the bottom of the link. As of August, 2011 no elevators and ramps. Why bother? Go to Mountain Top on the west end of the island.

 

http://www.ada.gov/tramcon.htm

[tommcdon]

Wait a minute...what is with the "that's good to know" and "thanks for the info" replies. The US Virgin Islands are a territory of the US. This response by the marketing direrctor and sorry-butt explanation for the lack of access for those who are in need of elevators and ramps would be, duh, unacceptable in the States - VIOLATION.

 

These people (Skyride to Paradise Point) are not running a business that my family will ever visit again - not disabled friendly!!! Upon our visit, we also found animals in the zoo that had no water, as well as other areas of neglect. St Thomas Skyride to Paradise Point is owned by Tramcon, per their website - sttparadisepoint.com/. Tramcon is at the bottom of the Home webpage. Check out the link below ordering them to rectify the problem regarding accessibility. The date of order is at the bottom of the link. As of August, 2011 no elevators and ramps. Why bother? Go to Mountain Top on the west end of the island or visit some shope in town...at least they will be open.

 

http://www.ada.gov/tramcon.htm

[Virginoftheseas]

Why bother? Go to Mountain Top on the west end of the island or visit some shope in town...at least they will be open.

 

http://www.ada.gov/tramcon.htm

 

So are you saying mountaintop is fully accessible? Is this mountain top accessed by a tram from crown bay or by car only?

 

As the email says not many taxis on the island can handle wheelchairs or scooters how do you suggest people get there?

 

I'd be interested to know: when they allow someone in a wheelchair to go down then back up are you charged the round trip price.

I've read on afew sites that taxis that can take wheelchairs around many caribbean islands charged people more if not double the price of regular taxi.

[Ellmicron]

Pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act, buildings and facilities that undergo major renovations or remodels must adhere to the requirements of the ADA. Is it possible that this facility has not undergone a remodel since the ADA was adpted? Is it possible that the ADA requirements do not pertain to the United States Virgin Islands? An inquiry to the ADA should answer your questions. If the property is in violation, this agency will require and oversee enforcement.

 

Wheelchair accessible vehicles are considerably more expensive to purchase than regular taxis because of the equipment and modifications required. This equipment requires regular maintenance and repair. It is understandable and expected to pay a higher fee for accessible transportation just like we do here in the good ole USA.

[rtfnl]

I did the Skyride last year (December) in reverse. The taxi dropped us off at the bar/restaurant area. We had to walk some stairs to get to the platform to enter the Skyride.