New obstacle course playground coming to Bucklin Park

EL CENTRO — A new obstacle course playground is coming to Bucklin Park. The course will be made up of playground equipment intended for children ages 13 and up.

It is estimated the Bucklin Park Challenge Course will be completed and installed by the first quarter of 2021, El Centro’s Community Services Director Adriana C. Nava said.

The project will be mostly funded from the $177,952 in grant monies allocated to El Centro under Proposition 68. However, the city still needs to submit a grant application to acquire these funds.

On Tuesday, the El Centro City Council unanimously approved allowing city staff to complete the grant application.

While presenting the Challenge Course to the city council, Nava explained that city staff created a draft of the course by conducting public outreach and surveying local youths.

Based on the feedback, it was discovered the existing play equipment at Bucklin Park is undersized for the amount of use, and there is no play equipment for teens.

Youths also expressed a need for playground equipment that is more interactive, and that they would like to see challenge obstacle courses, which have been popularized by shows such as “American Ninja Warrior.”

On that show, competitors attempt to complete an obstacle course in a set amount of time, which gave city staff the idea for the Challenge Course.

Nava explained that the obstacle course will also be a great way to exercise and promote the idea that physical activity is fun.

The current obesity rate of teens (12 to 17 years old) in the Valley is 33 percent, according to the Imperial County Public Health Department.

The Challenge Course will be built in a dirt area next to the current playground at Bucklin.

The course (including the soft surfacing beneath it) will cost approximately $140,000. The remaining grant funds will be used for installation/construction.

It is intended that users of the facility will time themselves running through the course, and compete with their siblings or friends, Nava said.

“That looks fun,” El Centro Councilwoman Cheryl Viegas-Walker said while looking at a rendering of the course. “It looks different and creative.”

“This is perfect for our adolescents and young adults to utilize,” Councilman Tomás Oliva added.

COURTESY PHOTO A concept rendering by GameTime of the Bucklin Park Challenge Course. The course, which is estimated to be built by 2021, will feature start/stop bollards, ninja steps, agility trainers, floating boards, a traverse wall, agility pods, sway steps and a U-turn ramp.