Two Sterling parks to get obstacle courses, American Ninja style

STERLING – The city is spending about $115,000 in capital funds to make two of its parks more challenging – and hopefully, more appealing.

Last week, water and public works department workers, with the help of a few Kiwanis Club volunteers, installed an “American Ninja Warrior”-style obstacle course at Lincoln Park, 16th Avenue and Fourth Street.

It’s geared for children ages 5 to 12, in part because of visits from the students at Lincoln Elementary across the street.

Workers are giving the same treatment to Platt Park, 20th Avenue and Seventh Street this week, but modifying the designs with a Ninja-style Fitcore course. That means the parks with have climbing walls and rope swings – without the water – designed for ages 13 and older, Sterling Public Works Superintendent Brad Schrader said.

Schrader said volunteers are welcome to swing by Friday and roll up their sleeves.

Most of the cost – estimated between $96,000 and $98,000 – accounts for the Fitcore equipment at both parks, he said.

Fitcore aims to capitalize on the popularity of extreme fitness, a trend based on TV shows such as “American Ninja Warrior.” Fitcore hopes its customers can create custom fitness courses using combinations of pre-designed challenges to encourage kids, teens and adults to get and stay fit, according to its website, https://www.playlsi.com/en/ad/fitcore-extreme.

Other expenses cover necessities such as concrete and mulch, Schrader said.

Platt Park recently received an upgrade of a different nature.

The 1.5-acre park wasn’t being used in the manner or frequency its creators intended, so in late 2017, volunteers added a hilly pump track where local mountain bikers and street bikers could go off-roading. Pumping is a term mountain bikers use for creating momentum with up and down body movements.

“We are going to be putting some more ramps in there,” Schrader said.

In the years after the 2017 bike track addition, Sterling also built a walking path around Platt Park’s perimeter. The city owns and maintains seven parks, with the rest residing on Sterling Park District properties – all of them open from dawn to dusk.

When Sterling began its multiyear project to upgrade its parks, its decision to replace playground equipment nearly three decades old was part of that plan. Also part of the plan is an upgrade to basketball courts, putting in new curbs and sidewalks and, in some cases, parking lot improvements.

Schrader said another part of the plan focuses on Central Park, home of Grandon Civic Center, where the city plans to add bathrooms, a concession stands, better lighting and maybe even a small splash pad. That project would begin in the spring.

This is the kind of public work that Schrader said he really enjoys.

”I think it’s great when we invest in the parks,” he said.