Group bases its idea for outdoor exercise area on Australian model
Fitness enthusiasts have been examining the notion of building a calisthenic fitness park at the base of the McHugh Bluff stairway. Annalise Klingbeil spoke to Peter Hamilton, a member of the Alberta Urban Athletics Association, about the park.
Q How did this idea come about?
A I use the stairs in Crescent Heights for fitness and I belong to an informal group of friends, we get together a couple times a week and do a workout and run the stairs. I’ve spent time in Sydney, Australia, where a lot of the parks have outdoor fitness parks in them. We thought it’d be a great idea to try and get a dedicated area next to the stairs where people could actually work out, rather than have them doing that on the pathway or the stairs. We approached the city and asked what the situation was and they said you have to get yourself organized as a non-profit society.
Q So your group of friends founded the Alberta Urban Athletics Association to move the idea forward?
A Absolutely. We got ourselves organized and sold memberships to raise a little bit of money. We have about 100 members, all from different groups around the city. The more we’ve (pushed the idea forward), we’ve realized there are more needs and wants there. There are people that want bike racks, people that want a water fountain. The site was never intended to be a workout site, but it has become that way. And as a result, it’s put a lot of strain on the site.
Q In Calgary, there’s already outdoor fitness equipment (also called adult playgrounds) in 13 city parks. How is this different than what already exists?
A In North America, people have tried to take gym equipment and put it outside. There are moving parts. What we’re proposing (consists of) all non-moving parts. Some people call it a bar park. It’s different callisthenics — pull-ups, and pushups, and sit-up planks and that sort of thing, where it’s all body weight, basically. It gives you a lot more flexibility in the sense you can have one piece of equipment you do multiple exercises on, versus putting an outdoor StairMaster in a park.
Q The current space is quite popular at all hours of the day. Tell me about what goes on there.
A People do sit-ups on the concrete and hang under the stairs doing pull ups and use the concrete barriers against the sidewalk to do dips. You see people that will attach battle ropes to sign posts down there. We’re trying to put the type of equipment that people want and need in there, so it takes people away from being out in people’s way as they’re trying to use that area for transportation.
The area was never designed for what it is used for today. The stairs are there to make it easier for people to get up and down the hill. But there’s a large number of people from all over the city that come over during the day and at night. It’s a victim of its own success. It’s in the perfect spot to look at the city and the perfect spot for access. It gives people a quick workout during the day, but you have a situation where it’s also busy with people that live in the community and want to walk through there.
Q What’s the timeline on this project?
A The project is in a proposed stage. We’re trying to determine what would be feasible at this site. Until we hear no, we’re going to keep moving through the process. I would envision this as a 2018 project.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. aklingbeil@postmedia.com