A new feature at Hobbs Farm Park will help users of the Carrollton GreenBelt get altogether fit at almost no cost to the city.
In May, the city received a $35,000 grant from the Atlanta-based Mary Alice and Bennett Brown Foundation to build the Hobbs Farm Fit Court, an outdoor exercise area similar to one located in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. The grant covers almost 100 percent of the court’s price tag.
“We were very lucky to work with the Brown Foundation on this project,” said Martyna Griffin, vice president of Friends of Carrollton GreenBelt. “Mr. Brown reached out to the Community Foundation of West Georgia and the Friends group last year, hoping to sponsor a fit court for Hobbs Farm. We plan to have the court installed this summer.”
The facility will feature five equipment pieces that offer 120 exercise combinations and fitness routines for beginners and advanced users. Signage will provide instructions for using the stations. The court will be ADA compliant and located close to a water fountain and restrooms.
“The fitness court will be a popular addition to the park, just like the Carrollton Bike Share was,” said Carrollton’s Community Development Director Erica Studdard. “We first introduced the Zagster bikes to the community in February, 2017. The Carrollton ridership was more than double the Atlanta bike share numbers by that April.”
“The court will fill a need for outdoor space catering to teenagers and the active adult population,” said Griffin. “These two groups were specifically mentioned during community surveys and town hall meetings when the city was updating its Comprehensive Plan in 2018. We also expect the fit court will attract groups affiliated with Parks and Recreation’s Senior Activities Center and Tanner Health System’s healthy living classes that meet on and around the GreenBelt.”
Hobbs Farm Park is a trailhead for the Carrollton GreenBelt a few blocks from Adamson Square and has become a go-to spot for exercise and healthy activity. The fit court will join the park’s long list of amenities which includes a one-mile GreenBelt loop, one of Georgia’s highest-rated disc golf courses, a public kayak launch pad and a gazebo in a middle of the Little Tallapoosa River.
For questions concerning this, please call Erica Studdard, Community Development Director, at (770) 830-2000.
