A proposed $245,000 fitness court in Bryant Park has been scrapped after Lake Worth Beach city leaders and residents debated whether the project was a smart investment or a costly obstruction.
The plan to install the outdoor fitness court was approved earlier in the year. The project would have offered a multi-station workout area, including an eight-foot-tall, nearly 40-foot-wide wall designed for full-body exercises.
However, concerns stacked up among city leaders and residents over the price tag, questions about maintenance, and fears that the large wall could block the view of the waterfront. Something Jiulie Campbell worried about was who was enjoying the view of the water, “Oh yeah, that’s just perfectly horrible,” Campbell said.
Director of Leisure Services Tiana McKay suggested pausing the project to gather more public input.
“I sent an email to all of the commission yesterday. We had received some communication and saw uh comments from residents. So, what Leisure Services would like to do is create a public outreach campaign to learn from the residents and gather research on their requests and needs for fitness in Bryant Park. So, we’re going to ask them about the fitness park proposal as well as the current equipment and then come back to commission with the findings of that and provide you with more information on the residents’ requests,” McKay said.
Commissioners, however, decided against the study and opted to abandon the project entirely. “I was prepared to vote no. I I just don’t want to waste staff time on doing a study on something that’s not going to pass,” Anthony Segrich said.
“I think we do have a consensus to let it go to release release the the park and not have you guys working on something that’s not going to succeed,” Betty Resch said.
A limited amount of workout equipment already exists in the park, which Resch said is rusting. “We walked down to the old fitness area and there’s so much work that needs to be done. It almost seems like let’s put our what resources we have into improving that.”
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