The city of Arnold will add equipment to two of its parks to make them more friendly and accessible to seniors and those with disabilities.
The AARP of St. Louis awarded the city a $15,000 grant to install swings to serve those with disabilities at Arnold City Park and exercise equipment geared for use by seniors along the walking trail at Ferd B. Lang Park.
The city was presented the check by Sheila Holm, community outreach director for AARP in St. Louis, on Nov. 7.
“This is just the start,” said Bill Knittig, chairman of the city’s Commission on Aging and Disabilities. “Last year, the AARP gave out $1.6 million in grants to ‘age-friendly communities’ for initiatives in their communities. This is the start of what could be happening in the city of Arnold. We are looking forward to many more years of continued growth and opportunities for the city.”
Arnold is the only city in Missouri to be designated an “age-friendly community” by the AARP and the World Health Organization. The city joined the program in January 2018.
The grant will cover the purchase of the equipment, and it should cost the city about $4,000 to install the swings and workout stations, Parks and Recreation Director Dickie Brown said.
He said the city will begin work to install the park features this winter, as weather allows, and the projects are expected to be completed by spring 2020.
“We are excited to do it,” Brown said. “I think they will be nice features in both parks.”
At Arnold City Park, which is off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River, the city will install a set that will feature a swing that is wheelchair accessible and another that can accommodate someone with mobility limitations. A pathway that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act also will be created leading to the swing set.
The cost for the swings is estimated to be $3,500, and the installation cost is estimated to be $1,500, the city’s grant proposal said.
“I think it will be a nice feature to allow someone to use the swing unassisted,” Brown said.
At Ferd B. Lang Park, 1820 Old Lemay Ferry Road, workout stations will be spaced out along the trail and will provide workouts to promote cardiovascular health, muscle tone, balance, maintaining flexibility and an array of social and mental benefits, the city’s grant proposal said.
The equipment includes a hand bike, a pendulum machine, a stair climber, a rowing machine, and an upright stationary bike.
The total cost for the equipment is estimated to be $10,505, and the city is anticipating the installation cost to be $2,500, the proposal said.
While the equipment is geared toward use by seniors, Brown said anyone can take advantage of the stations to enhance their workout.
Knittig said with the Cedarhurst Assisted Living and Memory Care facility being built at Missouri State and Old Lemay Ferry roads along with current senior living communities the Woodlands of Arnold on Woodland Meadows Drive and Watercolor Villas on Water Color Drive, a number of seniors will live near Ferd B. Lang.
“Within a mile of the park, you will have hundreds of people who are either elderly or have some type of disability,” Knittig said. “The accessibility part of it is going to be great.”