Those looking for ways to get outdoors and stay fit might want to visit Pomme Creek Park in Arnold, which has some new exercise equipment, thanks to a grant the city received from the AARP of St. Louis.
City staff recently finished installing the new five pieces of equipment at the park, 1 Golfview Drive. The park used to be the Arnold Golf Cub.
“It is very exciting to see it in place and ready for public use,” Arnold Parks and Recreation Director Dickie Brown said. “We have seen people walking by and trying it out. It is getting people’s attention and getting use. It is the perfect environment down there too, with the open setting and pathway.”
The new exercise equipment is designed for senior citizens but may be used by any age group. The equipment is spaced out along the park’s walking path, which is more than a mile long and used to be the golf course’s cart path.
Arnold purchased the equipment with a $15,000 grant it received from AARP of St. Louis in November 2019. The city received the grant in part because it is designated an “Age Friendly Community” by the AARP and World Health Organization.
Arnold is the only city in Missouri with the designation, which it received in January 2018. The only other community in the state with the same designation is St. Louis County.
“We are really appreciative of the AARP and our local Commission on Aging and Disabilities, which was instrumental in getting that equipment in the park with minimum cost to the city,” Brown said.
Arnold also used some of the grant money to install a swing set at Arnold City Park on Bradley Beach Road. The swing set includes one swing that is wheelchair accessible and another that can accommodate people with mobility limitations. A pathway that is compliant with the American with Disabilities Act also was created leading the swing set.
Early this month, Brown said the swing set at the city park, which is located off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River, was almost ready for use.
“The decision to donate the funds to Arnold was made so they could add elements to two of their parks that would be fully accessible for people of all ages and abilities. thereby enhancing (the city’s) work as an AARP ‘Age Friendly Community,’” said Sheila Holm, community outreach director for AARP in St. Louis.
The exercise equipment at Pomme Creek Park includes a hand bike, which strengthens arms and shoulders; a pendulum machine, which strengthens lower backs, abdominals and waist muscles; a stair climber, which strengthens quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, abdominals and forearms; a rowing machine to strengthen upper and lower backs, shoulders, biceps and forearms; and an upright stationary bike, which strengthens calves, hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps, the city’s proposal said.
Brown said the cost of the equipment and swings was just less than the $15,000 available in grant money. He said city spent about $2,000 for the concrete to install the equipment, and the city staff handled the installation.
Initially, the exercise equipment was slated to be installed along the trail in Ferd B. Lang Park. However, after the city closed the golf course and turned it into a park, Brown said the workout stations fit better at Pomme Creek Park.
“Pomme Creek Park has such a great walking path, and it is a loop around what used to be the golf course,” Brown said. “We were able to place the equipment strategically around the loop. Pomme Creek Park is getting a lot of use, and we think it is a nice feature.”