Albany is adding recreational options with an outdoor fitness center as part of the South End Connector transit project

There are new options for exercise in Albany’s South End — part of a major bikeway expansion.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan, elected officials and community partners announced the official opening of Phase Two of the South End Link on Saturday, a $1.7 million effort.

The project includes two bike lanes, food truck locations and a pop-up event space. Under Interstate-787 between Church Street and the intersection of Broadway and Quay Street, you’ll find places to stretch, sit, lift weights and even play basketball.

Sheehan said the link aims to improve community well-being, promote local businesses, and promote Albany’s pride and potential.

“It’s a place that was imagined by this place. Basketball, as we all know, is big in Albany. So we have a basketball center. We have a bike track, because we are close to a protected bike path that takes people from the Rail Trail down the Empire Trail. And a little further down, there is a new fitness area, an outdoor fitness area, where people can implement exercise and think about making sure they stay active and stay healthy, “said Sheehan, who presented the 109th District Assembly. Pat Fahy, a fellow Democrat who helped secure money for the project. Fahy, a candidate for the state Senate, said the move is in line with “the take down parts of the 787.”

A day earlier, several explanations for how the road could be repaired were released after years of discussion and public opinion.

“And restoring our greatest natural resource by fully connecting Albany with, again, its greatest natural resource, the Great Hudson River. We are so close, yet so far,” he said. Fahy.

Sheehan says Albany’s next 100 years starts with looking at what the city can do now.

“We will not give up on these areas. Now it’s a place in this area. So how do we make it a place that this neighborhood can use and be proud of? How can we celebrate the fact that we’ve built this amazing bike infrastructure in New York State, and we’re continuing to build on bike infrastructure and not drag the environment into the future that helps us bring not just only us. but for our entire region,” Sheehan said.

South End Neighborhood Association President JoAnn Morton praised the free bike learning event for kids that took place before the meeting.

“When I think back to when we started the discussions about the South End Connector, the people in the city didn’t feel like the bike lane was ours. But when this whole idea about the park and bringing in the little kids, you know, two of these guys coming down on their bikes, you know, people riding bikes, I didn’t feel like it was safe for them. But now, let’s talk , you know, there were studies done, talking to the planning department, and this whole thing, and I keep looking back, the bike lanes, but also for the delivery trucks It was like “We talked about our concerns. And I’m glad to see those things come to fruition,” said Morton.

Sheehan says there’s one more thing on the list — sitting in a public restroom nearby. He says there is a pilot program underway at Black Lives Matter Park that, if successful, could be replicated at the Connector site.