Despite the pandemic currently tearing apart our ability to conduct polite society, in regular times we’ve found a lot of downtown Austin dwellers consider the city itself their gym — the Hike-and-Bike Trail, exercise classes at various city facilities, and outdoor workout equipment at some of our parks. But there’s always room for more where that came from, if only because it reminds us of the possibility that things may someday return to relatively normal around here — so let’s help the Trail Foundation pick some new equipment for a public exercise facility at Butler Shores, shall we?
The Foundation, along with Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, has a cool $500,000 carved out for new exercise equipment to replace the fairly depressing set of chin-up bars and some other scrap metal currently hanging out at Butler Shores, the trail-adjacent area of parkland following West Riverside Drive immediately west of South Lamar Boulevard, just north of the Zach Theatre and PARD’s own headquarters — a site that will hopefully someday host a new location for the Dougherty Arts Center, and now some new exercise equipment to boot! Let’s get a load of the site plan:
What you see above is the plan for landscape and hardscape improvements to the workout site itself, which will straddle this section of the trail and create an area suitable for exercise. The community engagement part of this process will determine the type of equipment we eventually smack down at the big “Fitness Equipment Zone” labeled in the plan, and for that we’ve got two wildly different options.
The enhancement proposes:
- Exercise equipment with a well-rounded variety of workouts. Equipment is designed for ages 13+
- Visual guides showing intended exercises for each equipment piece w/ a scannable link for more info
- Natural hardscape materials
- Native plants and shade trees
- Engineered Wood Fiber surfacing
- Concrete ribbon curb separate the trail from the fitness zone
- Limestone block seat wall
- New drinking fountain, bike racks, trash and recycling receptacles
— The Trail Foundation, Exercise Equipment Project Elements
Equipment Option 1: Trekfit
The first option would install an assortment of equipment by Quebecois outdoor fitness manufacturer Trekfit — a bench, various sets of bars, and at its center a “Bamboo Jungle” seemingly inspired by the wire fu fight scenes from assorted wuxia films or like, Batman’s ninja training. Here’s a video of that setup in action:
This whole thing looks exhausting, which I guess is the point. That bamboo jungle setup is also very visually appealing, which might encourage people to use it.
Equipment Option 2: Kompan
Our second option arrives from Kompan, a playground equipment manufacturer originally out of Denmark but sporting a U.S. headquarters right here in Austin. It’s a more traditional set of workout equipment, with more moving parts than the bars and bamboo setup in the first option — rings, kettlebells fixed on vertical tracks, and an “arm bike” using similar principles as the stationary bike for an upper body workout. Here’s a look at some of that equipment in action:
Both the Trekfit and Kompan equipment options include mobile apps — and both setups meet the five objectives identified by PARD and the Trail Foundation as key elements of a “well-rounded” exercise program, explained in the slide below:
You’ve got until September to pick your favorite of the two equipment options, and we’re not going to tell you how to vote here. The Trekfit setup from the first option is a lot more visually appealing than the second option’s Kompan equipment, which also has a lot of moving parts and seems more likely to wear out — but all those moving parts might also provide a more well-rounded workout, with a lower barrier to entry and what seems like increased accessibility for wheelchair users. Either way, here’s the survey in English and Spanish, to be completed at your leisure before next month.
As part of the continual goal of trail improvement for The Trail Foundation,the Butler Shores exercise equipment enhancement seeks to introduce more variety of exercise and fitness equipment, allowing for conditioning of multiple muscle groups and a range of abilities. This enhancement also seeks to bring more awareness of this public amenity in this location. Finally, the project also intends to integrate supplemental areas for rest, including an updated drinking fountain and new trees to shade users during their use of the equipment.
— The Trail Foundation, Exercise Equipment Project Goals
The project is scheduled for completion by 2022, hopefully far enough away for the present situation to be in the rearview — and while current park closures keep the existing equipment at this site beyond our reach, exercise is a good way to keep the psychological effects of social distancing at bay. We hate it, but we love it.
Zilker Park homes for sale
-
$1,790,000
1910 Collier ST
Austin, TX -
$450,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #2023
Austin, TX -
$1,175,000
1709 Valeria ST
Austin, TX -
$440,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #1042
Austin, TX -
$475,000
1133 Hollow Creek DR #101
Austin, TX -
$649,000
1600 Barton Springs RD #2104
Austin, TX -
$1,950,000
1210 Kinney Ave
Austin, TX -
$530,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #5009
Austin, TX -
$3,675,000
1708 Hether ST
Austin, TX -
$1,200,000
1705 Cliffside DR
Austin, TX -
$1,499,000
1704 Kinney Ave #A
Austin, TX -
$1,850,000
2401 Trailside DR #B
Austin, TX -
$1,695,000
2002 Kinney Ave #B
Austin, TX -
$1,350,000
1905 Kinney Ave
Austin, TX -
$2,400,000
1815 Brookhaven DR
Austin, TX -
$4,995,000
2624 Deerfoot TRL
Austin, TX -
$2,200,000
1604 Kerr Ave
Austin, TX -
$460,000
1217 Hollow Creek DR #1
Austin, TX -
$535,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #4035
Austin, TX -
$3,850,000
1304 Folts Ave
Austin, TX -
$365,000
1240 Barton Hills DR #220
Austin, TX -
$315,000
1422 Collier ST #106
Austin, TX -
$500,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #5038
Austin, TX -
$2,295,000
2102 Ford ST
Austin, TX -
$1,295,000
1600 Barton Springs RD #4504
Austin, TX
-
Lot Size5,885 sqft
Home Size2,268 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size310 sqft
Home Size698 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size7,711 sqft
Home Size1,727 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size39,204 sqft
Home Size887 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size10,041 sqft
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size610 sqft
Home Size946 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size6,717 sqft
Home Size2,100 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size40 sqft
Home Size887 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size8,712 sqft
Home Size3,615 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths4.5 Baths
-
Lot Size14,175 sqft
Home Size2,289 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size10,281 sqft
Home Size2,068 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size10,799 sqft
Home Size2,105 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size9,366 sqft
Home Size1,910 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size7,702 sqft
Home Size1,736 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size14,506 sqft
Home Size2,642 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size12,014 sqft
Home Size4,313 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot Size8,190 sqft
Home Size2,851 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size2,231 sqft
Home Size663 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size345 sqft
Home Size780 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size7,606 sqft
Home Size3,413 sqft
Beds5 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
Lot Size1,525 sqft
Home Size761 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size1,094 sqft
Home Size525 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size393 sqft
Home Size887 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size7,022 sqft
Home Size2,838 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size976 sqft
Home Size1,520 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
Leave a Reply