Parents taking their children to the splash park this summer will be able to stay fit while their kids have fun, as the St. Paul Splash Park Committee has finalized the design process on its outdoor fitness facility, and will begin installation in May.
“It’s going to be a busy spring and summer in our town, that’s for sure,” said Town of St. Paul Rec. Director and member of the St. Paul Splash Park Committee Gary Ward. “We’ve got to make it accessible for everybody and get people out there and active in our community.”
Ward said the outdoor fitness facility will feature 11 stations, and could be open for use as early as June.
“There will be a hand cycle, a chin up station, a push up station, a captain’s chair, a lat pull, a horizontal ladder, a chest press, a recumbent cycle, three plyometric box stations. There will also be an upright cycle and a sit up bench,” he said, adding the facility will feature rubberized flooring. “Installation begins in May . . . I never asked for an end date, but I can’t see it taking more than a month to get done, so I would say we’ll have it ready sometime in the month of June.”
Ward added two of the fitness stations will be wheelchair accessible, allowing for a completely inclusive and accessible atmosphere for anyone that wishes to use the facility.
“Two of the stations will be wheelchair accessible. They can slide right into the chest press and also the lat pull stations,” he said. “That’s one thing I really wanted to have down there to offer it to everybody.”
The facility will be approximately 31 feet by 46 feet, and will sit adjacent to the splash park at Lagasse Park to create an environment the whole family can enjoy.
“It’s an unbelievable system. They can stay out all year long and nothing’s going to happen to them, which is nice. They’re all tested to 40 or 50 below,” Ward said of the equipment, adding minimalized moving parts allow for increased fitness levels and easier maintenance.
“It’s designed to look like the popular products found professional health clubs, beginner users are not a problem. There’s variable and magnetic resistance for smooth resistance and lower maintenance requirements.”
Ward said there are many tasks on the list for the St. Paul Recreation Department as summer approaches, as a number of smaller jobs will be done to spruce up the town’s parks.
“On the Parks and Rec side we’re just going to continue on looking at the parks and replacing pieces. In certain parks some of the toys will have to be replaced, some of the swing sets will have to be done, but that will be done on an ongoing basis,” he said. “We are going to keep on updating our parks that we started last year, where we did the town offices and six parks with a round of signage, with curbing and new flower arrangements. We’ll also be putting in cedar mulch instead of the rock that we had there before.”
Some remodeling will be done on the Aquatic Centre and Clancy Richard Arena, while some of the town’s outdoor recreation facilities will also receive some new features.
“We’re looking at putting a fountain into the centre of the fish pond . . . which will allow for better aeration and better oxygen levels for the fish,” said Ward. “We’re going to be upgrading a couple of the ball diamonds. We’re going to put an eight-foot warning track on Diamond 5, and we’re going to redo the infield on Diamond 4. I know minor ball is looking at adding a couple of batting cages out at the facility, hopefully this year, if not it will be next year.”
