Fitness aficionados in Grand Forks now have an outdoor option for their workout.
The outdoor fitness park was officially opened on July 10 with a ribbon cutting ceremony featured members of the Grand Forks Recreation Commission.
The park is located on the east side of the aquatic centre and features 12 pieces of exercise equipment.
Gene Robert, chair of the rec commission, cut the ribbon. He said that outdoor fitness parks have been used widely. Christina Lake opened theirs about a year ago.
“The dynamics of this neighbourhood and the community in general are changing,” he said. “People want to become proactive about their health. This is another opportunity. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can come down, have a nice walk and use the equipment.”
Robert said it’s the mandate of the rec commission to provide opportunities for the community such as the outdoor fitness park.
“It’s a way of taking care of yourself,” he said. “I fully support it. It’s all about neighbours and people getting together and talking and have fun on some really user-friendly equipment.”
The outdoor fitness park is a fitting final project for John Mackey, RDKB director of recreation and facilities, before retiring in August.
“It’s a free facility,” he said. “It’s good for all ages. It’s bulletproof; it’s safe. It’s designed for year-round use outdoors.”
Mackey said the financing for the project came from the community.
“It came out to just shy of $50,000 for the whole project,” he said. “It’s low maintenance. It’s going to be a fun space. It’s going to tie into the new community garden we’re going to put in.”
Mackey said the community garden group, led by Graham and Kim Watt, will likely put in some trees and flowers and eventually a demonstration community garden.
“They’re going to do some landscaping for us,” he said. “It’s going to be a nice activity space. Some of our programmers are going to start to move outdoors and take advantage of the weather and the nice equipment.”
