Fitness stations have been installed, a perimeter path has been paved and the ninja obstacle course is ready for action. Things are moving along outside the Park District of Forest Park’s new Roos Recreation Center.
Crews have installed three fitness stations outside Roos, each offering visual and written instructions for how to stretch arms, legs, back and more. Attendees can also reference exercise videos via URLs printed on the signs if the illustrated and written directions fail them. Soft, crushed stone surrounds the fitness equipment, to cushion the impact on those working out.
“We tried to be pretty generic, so people can do more than one thing on these,” said Rachell Entler, park district recreation and marketing supervisor (and also a village commissioner). “You don’t have to have a background in fitness to use these.”
Bike racks have been installed in front of the Roos Center, funded through a grant by the Cook County Department of Transportation.
Once the weather breaks 50 degrees, crews will begin laying sod, install benches, and pave part of the Roos parking lot. Executive Director Larry Piekarz said he expects that will happen in about a week. Piekarz also noted that Roos’ ninja obstacle course and concert pavilion were recently installed.
Decorated with red, navy and silver trappings, the ninja course consists of rings, monkey bars, nets that people can climb vertically and horizontally and more. Piekarz said he hopes people will be able to use the ice skating rink the park district plans to install next to the ninja course this coming winter — it all depends on whether or not the sod takes, he said.
The men’s and women’s outdoor bathrooms are also complete.
Roos is scheduled to open May 26.
Nona Tepper
