As the world becomes more security and safety-conscious, recreation facilities like campus rec centers, sports and fitness facilities, and senior citizen centers have had to take progressive measures to secure the buildings themselves as well as the participants who visit them. Where entrance control was once limited to highly-sensitive operational areas, now the entire property must be considered for potential dangers to their members, specifically children.
A unique component to recreation centers is that they are membership-based which has traditionally allowed for a very clear delineation of who should and shouldn’t be granted access to the facility with access cards or membership cards and scanners at the front desk. However, relying on mechanical turnstiles and card readers only allows recreation centers to manage guest counts and but doesn’t necessarily improve the safety for the occupants already within the access-controlled areas. More recreation centers are turning to a more holistic entrance control approach that allows seamless user flow as well as greater security for sensitive areas like child care areas or playgrounds.
A Comprehensive Safety and Security Approach
Upon examining how to improve safety and security at more than 15 facilities in the Greater Toronto area, the YMCA of Greater Toronto discovered a need to move beyond simple subway-style tripod turnstiles. The turnstiles themselves were nearing end-of-life and had numerous accessibility issues including a lack of wheelchair access and the inability to handle high user volume at large events or busy periods.
After extensively evaluating other industry options, the YMCA of Greater Toronto selected FastlaneⓇ Turnstiles Glassgate 150 from Smarter Security to meet a variety of security needs while also complementing the aesthetics in their facility lobbies.
With a more progressive entrance control strategy, the YMCA of Greater Toronto facilities were able to:
- Enhance child security by moving children’s play spaces within an access-controlled area in a cost-effective way
- Improve the user experience by allowing maximum throughput volumes of up to one person per second during high traffic times; as well as becoming wheelchair and stroller accessible
- repair and maintenance costs by removing old, dated equipment with newer proven technology that eliminated the constant physical wear and tear of traditional turnstiles
More than 2 years following the installation of the FastlaneⓇ Glassgate 150s, YMCA facilities have not had any functional or hardware issues with their more progressive turnstiles.
Getting Members to Better Health Quickly and Safely
With more than 1,700 employees and hundreds of thousands of members, the need for smarter entrance control resulted in a more valuable membership for the community. Read more about how the YMCA of Greater Toronto evolved their safety and security practice forward with turnstiles from Smarter Security.
