There was an extra amount of fun at Lawrence Parks and Recreation in January and February, and I’m not even talking about the time I was woefully confused about what’s involved with a sow cow at the city’s new outdoor ice rink. (Sure, now they tell me it is spelled “Salchow.”) No, I’m talking about the department setting new records when it comes to people signing up for classes and courses.

The latest figures from the department show that enrollment numbers for everything from fitness classes to basketball leagues to wine tastings hit 4,211 in the January/February enrollment period. That’s a 42 percent increase from the same period a year ago. It also crushes any of the previous numbers for at least the last five years.

Department leaders said people heading to the new Sports Pavilion Lawrence at Rock Chalk Park were a “major driver” in the numbers. The 181,000-square-foot recreation center has allowed more youth basketball sessions, more sessions of youth and adult soccer leagues, more fitness classes and a large expansion of the department’s gymnastics program.

Plus, department leaders think the center has given residents another reason to think about getting more active.

“People go out there and see other people doing activities, and they think, ‘I want to give that a try,'” said Roger Steinbrock, the department’s director of marketing.

The department needs to have a record-type of year for class enrollments to keep the operating budget for Sports Pavilion Lawrence on track, and thus far it is off to a good start. But the new recreation center isn’t the only factor pushing up enrollment numbers.

Department leaders said the new “lifelong recreation” classes designed for people 50 and older are really gaining in popularity. About 8 months ago, the department hired a new program specialist, Gayle Sigurdson, to focus on developing classes and activities for the senior set. The program has allowed the department to begin offering some daytime, weekday classes that previously would have been tough to fill if the primary audience were people still in the workforce.

The classes have included traditional fitness classes such as aerobics, “Silver Steppers,” and something called yogilates, which I would have sworn was something my health-conscious wife was trying to get me to eat more of for breakfast.

But the program also includes classes on card games, computer workshops, nature journaling and travel clubs. In fact, the travel portion of the program has gotten rather ambitious. Parks and Recreation is organizing what leaders think may be the first overseas trip for the department. The department is advertising a trip to Ireland that will take place from Oct. 7 to Oct. 16. The department is working with professional travel planners to create the trip, but city officials are handling the marketing and promotion. The department also is offering several day trips, including a series of winery tours in Miami County, a trip to the Garden of Eden in Lucas, and a tour of the World War I museum in Kansas City.

In other news and notes from around town:

• It is that time of year where the heart gets all warm at the thought of future dandelions in the yard and summer road construction detours. I’ve got news on the latter. Motorists should expect a portion of Ninth Street to be completely closed for several days this summer.

A waterline replacement project near Ninth and Avalon will close that portion of Ninth Street to thru traffic while crews connect the new waterline to an existing waterline that runs through the middle of the Ninth Street intersection.

Current plans call for the street closure to begin on May 26 and last until June 7. Ninth Street will be closed to thru traffic from a point just west of Hilltop Drive and just east of Avalon Road. The official detour for the route essentially will be for motorists to take Sixth Street for their east-west travel. Expect some additional traffic on Maine Street as well, as motorists likely will use that street to exit Ninth and get to Sixth.

The city wants some public input on the idea. The City Commission will be holding a public hearing on the project at its 5:45 p.m. March 31 commission meeting at City Hall.

In case you are wondering, the May 26 start date does avoid KU’s commencement ceremonies. Commencement is scheduled for May 17 this year.

• While we’re in the neighborhood, I’ve also got an update about some work that will be happening at Hillcrest Elementary School at 1045 Hilltop Drive. The school is set to have a shakeup in parking as part of a renovation and addition at the school.

The school district and the city have reached an agreement where the school will be allowed to use city-owned right-of-way along Hilltop Drive and Harvard Road to install new parking stalls. The plan calls for 30 parking spaces to built along Harvard Road in front of the school and 37 spaces to be built along Hilltop Drive. You can kind of see on this site plan where the new parking spaces will be constructed.