- The Sunnyside community now enjoys new outdoor gym equipment funded by a R250,000 ward allocation budget.
- Ward 48 Councillor Zahid Badroodien and resident Peter Petersen highlighted the community’s long-standing need for such investments and expressed excitement about the equipment’s health benefits.
- The community is encouraged to use and protect the equipment, which was installed at the St Frusquin Sports Field, to ensure it remains a valuable asset.
The Sunnyside community now has access to brand new outdoor gym equipment, thanks to a R250 000 ward allocation budget investment.
With boundaries between the two wards changing several times over the past few years to include and then exclude this area between the two, Ward 48 Councillor Zahid Badroodien says minimal investments have been made in the area over the years.
“Ward 48 is quite a large ward. It’s extends all the way from Hanover Park to Klipfontein Road in this general area of Athlone. And over the years, the boundaries between Ward 48 and 49 have changed to include this area, then not to include this area. What has happened as a result is that these communities haven’t benefited from any investment from ward allocation in a meaningful way.”
Peter Petersen, a resident and member of the Sunnyside Neighbourhood watch, says he has been advocating for the installation of gym equipment since before Badroodien was the councillor and is happy to finally see it being installed.
“This is going to be an amazing asset for the community at large. We have an active sports community, and a soccer community that come to play here. People who use it to walk their dogs, people who walk around the field, and also a lot of people who live around the area may be more encouraged to make use of not only the field, but this gym equipment as well, which has obviously those benefits in terms of health,” Badroodien says.
Excited
Petersen says it is now up to the community to use the equipment thoughtfully to guard against vandalism and misuse.
Badroodien agrees: “We will continue to monitor and be vigilant, especially because there are a lot of residents that have eyes on this particular facility. So I’m really excited and it’s great to see that the community is excited as well.”
Initially, the equipment was planned for a park near St Mauri Road, but due to an issue, was moved to the St Frusquin Sports Field, where more equipment could be installed. This project was funded as part of the 2023-’24 ward budget and installation started in May.
“Gym equipment is very versatile in this community, just as walking tracks are versatile as well. In terms of investment, you get more bang for your buck when you invest in gym equipment and more people can then ultimately use it all at the same time. The community has been asking for gym equipment specifically. So why give them something else if this is what they wanted? And again, to hear that people, community members, were visiting the location as it was being constructed already, we were very impressed and excited by what they’re saying. So I’m hopeful that I’ll come here on a Saturday and I’m going to see a lot of elderly people here with their grandchildren enjoying the facilities that we’ve made available in the community,” says Badroodien.
