After seven years of planning and two months of construction, the city of Mountain View Sept. 13 inaugurated a new fitness cluster at Cuesta Park.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening by at least two years, according to Mountain View community services director John Marchant.
The fitness cluster provides free body weight workouts for ages 14 and older, as well as people with disabilities, said Jon Cowan, executive director of government relations and community partnerships for El Camino Health, by which the park is located. The fitness cluster has 10 pieces of equipment that can accommodate up to 38 people, Marchant added.
This is the first park in the city with CrossFit equipment, he noted.
“We don’t have any others like it in our park system, so we’re excited to bring some new elements to this area of the park,” Marchant said.
El Camino Health helped finance the project, donating $150,000 of the $351,500 cost used to construct the fitness cluster, Marchant said. The rest of the money came from the city’s Park Land Dedication Fund ($201,500) and the California Parks and Recreation Society’s 75th anniversary ($20,000).
The Cuesta Park fitness cluster was realized after members of the community services department saw the community’s need for more fitness areas in parks, Marchant said. Fitness clusters were only available in a small section of parks, so city officials wanted to expand them to give more residents access. One of the city’s first fitness clusters at Rengstorff Park is popular among residents, Marchant added.
“I was on the phone with a gentleman this morning that said he had been out in the park early mornings and he was surprised how well the area is being utilized by the community,” Marchant said a few days before the ribbon-cutting event at Cuesta.
Meanwhile, city officials had identified an underutilized location in Cuesta Park that could serve as a fitness cluster, which they chose to create after receiving input from the community, according to Marchant. Discussions about building the cluster began in 2018; the project was soon brought forward to the parks and recreation commission and the city council as a capital improvement project, and both parties approved it.
Since Cuesta Park borders El Camino Health, the hospital partnered with the city to finance the project and give medical input on the design, Cowan said.
“We also focus on promoting health and prevention, and one of the main health needs we focus on is diabetes and obesity,” Cowan said. “(This) includes not only disease management, but also contributing to factors such as healthy eating and active living, which help to prevent it.”
Construction finished in August, and the park was opened to the public soon after, Marchant said.
The city hopes to add fitness clusters at other parks, he added.
Cowan said he is grateful for the amount of open space available to the Mountain View community and is glad the land is being utilized to its full potential.
“We invest those millions of dollars each year to focus on helping to improve the health of our community, and physical exercise is one of the best medicines that’s available for health, regardless of our age, sex or physical ability,” Cowan said.
Mayor Pat Showalter, city manager Kimbra McCarthy, El Camino Health CEO Dan Woods and El Camino Health District Board chairperson George Ting spoke at the ribbon cutting, attended by several other city officials and members of the public.
