News

Oct 19, 2024

Carr Park Agility Course plans are being finalized

Plans for an agility course in Carr Park will be presented to the Ames City Council within a week. The Carr Park Agility Course project includes agility equipment as well as safety surfacing, a

Plans for an agility course in Carr Park will be presented to the Ames City Council within a week.

The Carr Park Agility Course project includes agility equipment as well as safety surfacing, a concrete border, a sidewalk connection along Meadowlane Avenue and a neighborhood park shelter.

Final plans and specifications for the agility course will be presented to the council on Tuesday.

Parks and Facilities Superintendent Joshua Thompson said the project is being proposed so the city can offer different play options in its park system.

"The majority of our playgrounds are what they call 'Post and Deck' structures," Thompson said. "They have slides and other typical playground equipment, which are very popular, and we will still put into the parks system, but we want to diversify the park system."

The agility course would also give the city an opportunity to provide different programs at Carr Park, though those options are not set up yet, Thompson said.

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An agility course typically consists of multiple pieces of equipment including cargo nets, over-head ladders, balance beams, ledge hanger, spider walk and more. The Carr Park Agility Course is proposed to have about 15 play components set in concrete with a rubber surface around them.

Thompson said the different components will offer a variety of physical challenges, which can be utilized in different ways to exercise the body.

"You can either utilize one piece of equipment, or you can do it in a circuit," Thompson said. "You can have a competition, or you can have multiple people doing a different circuit at the same time."

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The agility course project was first considered in 2021, with the question of installing it in Carr Park or Emma McCarthy Lee Park. After two public meetings with neighborhood residents that August, the project was presented to the Ames City Council that October. The council decided the agility course should be located in Carr Park.

The agility course has been delayed due to other projects like the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center and Schainker Plaza receiving priority. The rising cost of necessary materials also had been a factor.

"Part of the delay in getting this project completed is the overall cost of the agility course was more expensive than what we initially thought," Thompson said. "Especially after COVID, prices of everything have (gone up)."

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The project budget is about $735,000, and a design change was necessary due to rising costs.

Thompson said plans initially included a restroom facility with the park shelter, but it is being left off since it would cost about $400,000. A portable bathroom is currently at the park, and a restroom could be reconsidered in future years, he said.

When the city installs an amenity into the park system, it has to last a long time, Thompson said. That's why the city is installing a rubber surface that won't require continuous maintenance. The surface will cost about $30 per square foot, and designs propose about 6,000 square feet of it.

The city hopes to award the project's contract in December if plans are approved by the council. Construction would begin in the spring of 2025, and would hopefully be done the following spring, Thompson said.

Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at [email protected].