You Ask: The End of Albany's Greenway Parcourse?

If you have  about a problem in Albany, send it in with "You Ask" in the subject line, and we'll do our best to dig up an answer. If your question , you'll receive a gift from Albany Patch. Your name will not be shared without permission.

If you’ve ever walked under the BART tracks in Albany, you’ve probably seen the 1970s-era wooden parcourse, a series of well-weathered exercise stations for doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and more.

Today, much of the parcourse is fenced off as part of the the project, which includes a major renovation.

This has prompted a few people to ask Albany Patch about the fate of the outdoor gym, which, according to the city, hasn’t officially been maintained for years, but has some loyal users.

The city’s discussed the parcourse last week. (See the agenda, attached as a PDF with this story, which includes a staff report about this issue.)

Demolition, uncertainty 

The short answer is that many sections of the parcourse, which runs almost the full length of Albany’s section of from Brighton Avenue to Cerrito Creek at the Berkeley border, will be demolished in the construction, said Penelope Leach, acting assistant city manager.

“If it's an element that is in the way of the project, it will be removed and it won't be replaced,” Leach said.

During the public planning process for the BART seismic project, the parcourse wasn’t identified as a priority, Leach said.

The community’s top wishes were for a safe, ; replacing and landscaping; and the addition of an irrigation system using reclaimed water.

“The number one use was getting from point A to point B and trying to make the path multi-use and more safe - the parcourse just wasn't the centerpiece at the time," she said.

If there's a will there may be a way 

With construction well it’s not yet clear which parcourse stations might survive the work, Leach said.

At the recent , several parcourse fans defended its preservation, asking the city to save what it can, she said.

During construction, the city has no rights to change the design or plans, as agreed on with BART and project developers, Leach said. But when the project is complete, the city is open to new parcourse thinking, she said. “Everything is up for review.”

In this vein, the Parks & Rec Commission will revisit the parcourse issue in spring when the project is nearer completion. Albany's section of the work is slated to be finished in late 2012 or early 2013. 

“We want to see what the interest is, what the community really wants," Leach said.

"We don't want to be plopping things down without thinking about it comprehensively. It's part of a bigger picture.”

If there's community will for a new parcourse, the city will help it move foward. But strong support including community fundraising would be key, she said.

“It would move along faster if there's a solid group of citizen volunteers out pounding the pavement and fundraising, excited about it.”

Retro cool?

The history of Albany’s parcourse is fuzzy. It was a project of the city’s , and built sometime in the late 1970s. (Stay tuned for updates, if we get more.)

“Albany Rotarians contributed funds and actually installed much of the parcourse,” said Albert Nicora, a former member of the club who now lives in Carmel.

“I remember building perimeters and placing bark in the individual stations for work parties,” he wrote in an email, adding that the Rotary maintained the course for a few years. 

“This was a big project for us and the entire club was out there with gloves and shovels.”

Parcourses were invented in Switzerland in 1968, taking off in Europe, then the United States, with hundreds built through the 1970s, according to Wikepedia, which has a decent history of the outdoor exercise trails, even listing Albany’s.

The website entry doesn’t say much on the decline of the parcourse, though they've clearly faded into the past, as indoor gyms have boomed.

But the Wiki post does link to additional parcourse articles, including an Outside Magazine story calling the outdoor fitness phenomena the “retro cool route to strength and endurance.”

What do you think the future should bring for Albany's parcourse? Have you used the stations to stay fit? Tell us in the comments.

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an alert when we write about the BART seismic project.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email albany@patch.com.