When acquiring land for future parks and green space, Lawrence needs to think big.
Lawrence's founders, as well as a number of recent and current residents, have appreciated the value and importance of green space. They had the vision years ago to make sure land was set aside for parks such as Central Park (now Buford M. Watson Memorial Park) and South Park. In more recent years, parks such as Centennial, Broken Arrow, Lyon, Burcham, Hidden Valley, Riverfront and others have been added to the city's landscape.
Unfortunately, some of these parks have had a good share of their green space taken away by various city and county actions. Large portions of South Park were lost to a large parking lot on the northeast corner, the South Park Recreation Center, a wading pool and, now, a bathhouse. Centennial Park now has a large skate park and a gazebo being added to the area.
Parks and open space seem to have an almost irresistible attraction for city and county officials who want to find all sorts of uses for this land, thereby reducing the original green space and quiet. County officials, for example decided to take the easy way out some years ago, when they encroached on South Park to put in a parking lot rather than trying to buy nearby private property to accommodate the increased parking demands.
The city just about placed a large aquatic center in Centennial Park, but this was averted because of public pressure. A more economical and common-sense approach prevailed when the pool was built next to Free State High School. Some years ago, a sizable portion of Central Park (Watson Park) was lost when the large municipal pool took about half of the park's original area.
Various residents now are studying what might be a meaningful gift to the people of Lawrence, as well as future residents, to commemorate the city's 150 anniversary in 2004.
Why not a large park? A really large park? There's no question that Lawrence and Douglas County are going to grow in population, and there will be increased need for a large, green quiet space. How about making arrangements with some family that owns a large tract of land somewhere outside the current city limits and encourage them to consider selling their land for future park use? Maybe an agreement could be reached whereby the current owner could own the land and continue to live there for the rest of their life, or some other future date, at which time the land could be acquired at an agreed-upon price formula. Or maybe it would be beneficial, taxwise, for the owners to give the land to a local charitable foundation that could give the land to the city.
However it is accomplished, the city is going to need more park space, and hopefully a large portion of this space can be kept open and green rather than being carved up by city and county officials who want to create a Coney Island-type environment. Quiet green space is going to become increasingly important.
Lawrence and the county need more large, not postage-stamp-sized, parks. If one or more large park tracts could be acquired, there might be room for an amphitheater, lake or some other large feature. Such a facility should not overshadow the surrounding area.
Local residents and officials should take a look at Shawnee Mission Park in western Johnson County. Those who planned that park had vision. They thought big, and it is paying off today for Johnson County and area residents.
Now's the time to starting thinking about future park facilities for a growing Lawrence. Such thinking needs to have a vision, and organizers shouldn't hesitate to push this vision to the extreme. Future generations will appreciate those who today dared to think big about what would be a proper and lasting gift to Lawrence.
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