Accessible fitness equipment was recently installed along the Pomme Creek Park walking trail.
Funding for the new equipment was provided through a grant awarded to the City of Arnold by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The $15,000 grant was awarded to help make Arnold City Parks more accessible for seniors and those with disabilities.
The AARP awards grants to “age-friendly communities” for initiatives in their communities. In 2019, Arnold was named an age-friendly city. Arnold is the first city in the state of Missouri to be designated an “Age-Friendly Community” by the AARP.
The AARP grant supports the City’s efforts to fulfill the “Age-Friendly Community Network’s” mission for safe, interactive, and accessible venues that foster physical, mental, and social wellness. The equipment provides additional fitness options along with the park’s roughly 5 miles of walking trails, ponds, and natural environment.
Each station provides unique elements of a physical fitness routine, including:
- Hand Bike, Accessible
Function: Strengthens arm and shoulder muscles. - Pendulum Machine
Function: Strengthens lower back, abdominals and waist muscles. - Stair Climber
Function: Strengthens quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, abdominals, and forearms. - Rowing Machine
Function: Strengthens upper back, lower back, shoulders, biceps, and forearms. - Upright Stationary Bike
Function: Strengthens calves, hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps.
The newly installed equipment is designed to serve seniors and individuals with disabilities, but also provides fitness opportunities for all segments of the population.
Parks Department staff, under the supervision of Parks Superintendent Ray Dornseif, installed 5 pieces of accessible exercise equipment along the walking trail at Pomme Creek Park. Bill Knittig, from the City of Arnold Commission on Aging & Disabilities, was instrumental in locating the grant funding. Dickie Brown, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Arnold, worked to secure the funding with essential support from Mayor Ron Counts, City Administration, and the City Council.
The City of Arnold continues to make improvements to the recently established Pomme Creek Park, the site of the former golf course. The golf cart paths are now trails for public use. A second entrance has been added off of Tenbrook at the bridge that crosses Pomme Creek. Look for more amenities to further improve the park in the future.
