Darrin Umbarger wants to give Pendleton wheelchair users their mobility back.

Umbarger, the CEO of Clearview Mediation and Disability Medical Center and a wheelchair user, has dealt with his electric wheelchair running out of power.

“You’re at the mercy of everybody,” he said.

His solution was to start a pilot program to install wheelchair charging stations across the city.

Umbarger applied for and received a $18,000 state grant to start the program and the first charging station was installed Wednesday at Community Park with help from the Pendleton Parks and Recreation Department.

Marked by a bright blue sign, the charging station is a small gray box under a shelter on the east side of the park. Protruding from the box is a short cord that Umbarger estimated is compatible with 98 percent of electric wheelchairs and scooters.

After 15-20 minutes of charging at the station, which elicits a quiet hum when activated, the wheelchair is fully charged and ready to go.

Umbarger said there isn’t definitive information on how many wheelchair users live in Pendleton because many of them stay indoors.

Umbarger said a wheelchair with a brand new battery will give a user a 20-mile travel radius, although that number starts to shrink as the battery ages.

He got his first look at the charging station Thursday morning and was pleased with the result.

Community Park is an ideal place to start the charging station program because of its close proximity to several retirement communities and the opportunity it gives wheelchair users to “get outside and do stuff” with family and friends on the park’s walking path.

Umbarger plans to install 8-10 charging stations across city parks and businesses, with the next unit to be installed at Clearview’s headquarters at 307 SW 6th St. across from city hall.

Umbarger would especially like charging stations on the Pendleton River Parkway and Main Street.

He said people with disabilities outstrip teenagers in spending power, a fact he plans to use when pitching downtown businesses on including a charging station as an amenity.

With increased mobility comes increased responsibility.

Besides paying for the charging stations, Umbarger said some of the money will be used to host a series of wheelchair etiquette classes.

When seniors and the disabled get their driver’s licenses taken away, Umbarger said the transition to relying on a wheelchair as the only source of transportation can be a difficult one.

The classes will teach attendees the “rules of the road” for wheelchair users, like the fact that a wheelchair user could still be convicted of driving drunk if they operate a wheelchair in public while intoxicated.

Umbarger said wheelchair charging stations aren’t just a new idea for Pendleton, but cities across the state — Hermiston has already expressed interest in installing some charging stations of its own.

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Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.