There are no hurdles in sight for a fitness project planned for Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park.
City council recently approved plans for a fitness circuit in the park, and Burnaby’s three Rotary clubs are now banding together to secure funding.
“We always want to be involved and engaged with the communities we serve,” Bala Naidoo, a member of the Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown, told the NOW.
The three clubs – Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown, Rotary Club of Burnaby Deer Lake and Rotary Club of Burnaby – planned the project with the city’s parks department in honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial birthday in 2017.
“We wanted to do something special to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday,” Naidoo said. “Something that we can do for the community and enhance Rotary visibility as well.
“We’re a well-kept secret,” he added. “Many people don’t know the great work we do.”
The clubs are raising funds for the 12-station circuit, which they estimate will cost about $150,000.
Local companies and organizations can sponsor one of the 10 fitness stations for $10,000, Naidoo said. The clubs are also looking for business partners willing to provide in-kind donations, such as construction material.
Rotary has partnered on other projects in the city in the past, including raising funds for the boardwalk at Piper’s Spit in Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
The clubs hope the Foreshore project will lead to more projects in the future, Naidoo said.
“We would like to do this and look at future opportunities to work with the city,” he said.
The city has two other fitness circuits in local parks, according to Dave Ellenwood, Burnaby’s director of parks, recreation and cultural services.
“They’ve been really successful,” he said, noting that the circuits are used for city seniors’ programs.
The two existing circuits are located in Central and Cameron parks.
The outdoor equipment is durable and stands up to a lot of use, Ellenwood added.
“We’ve gotten great feedback from the community,” he said of the Central Park circuit.
The Foreshore circuit would be located between Byrne Road and Tillicum Street, and would run along the lower waterfront trail and the upper dike paths, with connections to make it a loop system, according to the report Ellenwood submitted to Burnaby council.
It would be approximately 450 metres long, with an overall route length of about 960 metres. The fitness stations would be in groups of three, located in four accessible pods, according to the report.
The project is expected to be completed by July 1, 2017 and plans include a commemorative plaque.
