On the last lap

By Peter Suter

 

New track finished soon

Over the winter break construction to resurface damaged areas of the 1-kilometer track, located around the George M. Rush football field, has begun and is due to be complete within the next few week, according to City College Athletic Director Daniel Hayes.

Hayes helped decide when construction was set to begin.  He scheduled for the revamping to take place over the break to shorten the time of construction while City College was in session.

“The renovations should be done as soon as possible, though, due to weather this may have prolonged the finish date, but I believe it will be complete in the next week or so,” Hayes said.

The  $482, 876 New Synthetic Track Resurfacing contract was awarded to Beynon Sports Surfacing, Inc., which was approved by the Board of Trustees on June 22, 2017, records show.  

However, no exact start and finish dates were ever established when Board of Trustee members first authorized the contract.

The existing synthetic track at the Ocean Campus was installed around 1992. It is a 10mm thick poured liquid polyurethane with black mesh rubber, topped with a 4mm thick poured liquid polyurethane with embedded EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber. This is the same type of surface that can be found at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, University of Oregon and University of Southern California. The surface has aged extremely well over the past 25 years, which greatly exceeds the expected service life of similar installations elsewhere. This is due primarily to the Ocean Campus microclimate.

Though the track’s surface is showing signs of wear and tear, along with areas of damage from subsurface irregularities.

Tripping and falling hazards, along with accelerated ageing, are what prompted City College administrators to act.

Resurfacing of the track aligns with Accreditation Standards, which says an institution must assure safe and sufficient physical resources at all locations where it offers courses, programs and learning support services.

Meanwhile, the track and field team practices and physical education classes, which use the track extensively, have been moved to inside the gymnasium until the track is completed.

When asked if future track and field meets could be hosted at George M. Rush Stadium, Hayes said, “We have held them in the past and we intend to do so in the future, but as of now there are no plans for this spring….Because so many people within the City College community use the track for so many different reasons, it’s been imperative that we get these much needed repairs done.”