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WEST PITTSTON — A third park may be added in the borough in the near future.
At a recent borough council meeting, the council members approved the motion to apply for a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Grant for a seniors playground.
Council member Judy Aita came across the idea for the playground while scrolling through the Internet and felt it would be a great asset to the community.
“We do have parks in West Pittston, we already have two — one for dogs and one for kids,” she said. “This would be super great for seniors and not specifically for seniors because it will be multi-generational. If the grandparents go to use the park, there will be something there for the kids.”
Aita said the playground will be installed on Susquehanna Avenue.
The playground will serve as a way for senior citizens to stay active and have fun in the process with equipment such as stationary bicycles, side-by-side striders, face-to-face leg presses and hand-eye dexterity games.
The playground may also include bocce courts, ping pong tables and/or horseshoe pits.
“It would really be an outdoor fitness park featuring low-impact exercise equipment,” said Aita. “It’s not designed yet, so we’ll need someone to design it to include stationary bikes, leg presses and non-impact kind of exercises. I’d like to see an open area where maybe we can get a yoga instructor to come in once a week in the summer time and do yoga for seniors outdoors.”
According to information provided by seniorplanet.org, senior playgrounds started nearly 20 years ago ago in China, after a national law went into effect that mandated fitness programs for all ages. The idea spread during the 2000s to England, Japan, Finland, Germany, Canada and Spain.
There are 15 cities in the United States, including Harrisburg, with senior playgrounds.
Before Aita presented the idea to the West Pittston Borough Council members, she first sought approval from state Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Kingston, to ensure his office would back the project.
“With so much of the flood recovery, there is space that needs to be used,” said Kaufer. “I think it is unique doing a senior style park; I think it’s one of the things where you can bring in kids that grandparents are babysitting and they can have fun. I give credit to Judy and, when she wanted to apply, I said this looked like a great program.”
Also hopping on board for the senior playground is Mary Roselle, Executive Director for the Area Agency of Aging for Luzerne County.
Roselle said the agency is always looking for new ways to keep seniors active.
“I do think it’s a great idea,” she said. “We do need more programs to help keep seniors active, but something like this where they are outdoors and get some socialization as well as recreational activity is great.”
Should the borough acquire the DCNR Grant for the playground, Roselle said she will be more than happy to help promote it and personally escort seniors there.
“We certainly could have a day where we take seniors there if they would allow them to have us and see the facilities and try some things out,” she said.
While she does not have an exact amount for the grant, Aita does not anticipate it being more than $35,000 — half of which the borough will need to provide.
The deadline for the grant proposal is April 13, but Aita said grants will not be awarded until the fall.
“I’m optimistic, and if we don’t get the grant this year, we’ll just keep applying for it,” she said. “But I’m going to be more positive than that.”