The construction of the street sports facility will start at the beginning of April. The new sports facility will support the recreational use of Malminkenttä before the permanent development of the area. The area now has an outdoor gym, a playground, a bird-watching tower and, in winter, a cross-country skiing trail. There is also an outdoor recreation trail that circles around the area.
The street sports facility will feature a skatepark, a pump track, teqball tables, basketball courts, a barbecue area and a graffiti fence. Furthermore, the City will install signs and information boards about the nature and history of the area in Malminkenttä. The City will also add more public hangout spots in the area.
“City residents have long been calling for a street sports facility in the Malmi area,” says the area’s borough liaison, Kirsti Kallansalo.
Sports facilities have been proposed in both OmaStadi and the Youth Budget project proposals.
Nature will be taken into account in construction
The construction will take into account the presence of Burren green moths (Calamia tridens) and other lepidopterans, as well as birds and trout in the area. The need for an assessment of sulfide clay in the soil is currently being investigated, and the City has issued strict instructions to the contractor for the treatment of worksite water. Worksite water must not be discharged into the meadows. The contractor is also prohibited from depositing building materials in the meadows because of ground-nesting and migratory birds.
The Burren greens and meadows will be protected by building a fence between the sports facility and the meadows. The fence will only be installed once the moths have reached the adult stage. This is to ensure that the construction does not disturb the moths’ development. However, the City is still investigating whether it is possible to install the protective fence on the asphalt, allowing the work to be carried out earlier. The construction site fences will be on asphalt.
The materials of the street sports facility will be reusable for future projects, provided that they remain intact throughout the temporary use in Malminkenttä. Lentoasemanpuisto will eventually be equipped with new activities and facilities.
Stara will install the fence, signage and some of the benches in April and May. The installation of the functional equipment for the eastern runway will be carried out by Tieluiska Oy in April–July. The opening of the street sports facility will take place in late summer or early autumn.
