The second of two public hearings gives Lawrence residents a chance to help plan parks and recreation centers in Lawrence.
Although Lawrence has good parks and recreation facilities, there should be more bicycle paths and better planning, people attending a hearing said Thursday night.
"I would love to see something that connects all these different areas," said Johan Feddema, an assistant professor of geography at Kansas University.
"We have a really nice parks system, but it'd be nice if kids could get to them without parents having to drive them," he said.
Those comments and others were made during the second of two public hearings on the development of a new comprehensive plan for city parks and recreation.
About 20 people attended Thursday's meeting at Holcom Recreation Center, 2700 W. 27th St. About 30 people were at a similar meeting Wednesday at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., said Lawrence Parks and Recreation Director Fred DeVictor.
Rick Roberts, a general partner with Leon Younger & Pros, the city's consultant for the plan, wrote down suggestions from people attending the meeting.
"We're not here for what's good or bad," he said. "We're here to gather all the information."
In addition to the meetings, the city will conduct a survey next month as part of the comprehensive plan's development.
"We've had all kinds of suggestions," DeVictor said.
In 1994, the department used public input to draft a comprehensive plan that called for developing new parks and recreational facilities.
The plan led to voter approval that year of a new 1-cent countywide sales tax, with much of the city's portion of the proceeds earmarked for parks and recreation programs.
Lawrence's share of the sales tax revenue is projected at $6 million for 1999. Of that money, about $3.2 million goes into a reserve fund to pay for recreation projects. An additional $99,300 goes into the recreation fund for operating expenses, and $157,300 goes toward Eagle Bend Golf Course.
Since the tax went into effect, DeVictor said, the city has completed many of the projects in the first comprehensive plan, including renovation of the downtown swimming pool, improvements at the Youth Sports Inc. complex and construction of the Clinton Lake softball complex.
-- Michael Dekker's phone message number is 832-7187. His e-mail address is mdekker@ljworld.com.
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