photo by: Bremen Keasey

The parking lot at Martin Park blocked by some boulders and orange traffic cones. The park in Northwest Lawrence was closed off this month as part of a reduction in maintenance staffing in the Parks and Recreation Department.

A small park in northwest Lawrence has been closed since the start of the month because of budget reductions in the city’s Parks and Recreation department.

Martin Park, a 19-acre property at East 1130 Township Road, has been closed to the public in part because of a reduction in staffing for park maintenance positions. The park, situated in the Baldwin Creek watershed, was donated by Mr. and Mrs. William H. Martin to the city in 1963 with the understanding the land would only be used as a public park, according to the city’s website.

The closure of Martin Park was something the department floated during the first meeting about the 2025 budget proposal in July. Although other funding was restored for the department in the approved budget — commissioners approved a budget authorizing the Parks and Recreation department to use Special Recreation funds to repair or replace aging playground structures — staffing cuts meant the department would not be able to properly maintain the park.

Luis Ruiz, the Parks and Recreation Department director, told the Journal-World via email the city plans to still hold the park as a green space, but its parking lot and trails “will no longer receive scheduled maintenance.”

Currently, access to the parking lot is blocked by large rocks and orange traffic cones. Porter Arneill, an assistant director with the parks department, said that because of the low staffing and the fact that any park use would require trash removal, the department felt closing the lot would be necessary.

“Without the support of our maintenance team to keep the lot properly serviced, it would be unsafe to keep the lot open,” Arneill said.

The parking lot has been blocked off since October, the city said. Although a pedestrian could go over the rocks, there aren’t any other trails or paths to access the park or parking lot.

Joey Shondell, a KU graduate who studied environmental science, sent a public comment to the city at the time asking if the city would sell the park. Shondell, who worked at a native plant nursery in Baldwin City, told the Journal-World that in his time exploring Martin Park, he saw plants “rarely seen” in other woodlands in Douglas County, like yellow lady slippers and fawn lilies.

“It’s a special spot,” Shondell said.

Shondell acknowledged it’s not a well-used park, but he said he has seen people walk their dogs or hike in the area and said losing any green space for the city is a “bummer.”

Now that the park is closed, Shondell is worried that some of those unique local plants could go away because of a lack of maintenance. He said honeysuckle plants in the park are invasive and often end up crowding out some of those native plants that can be rare in this part of the state. Although it could mean community members could go out and cut some of the honeysuckle to help the native plants, he is worried about the ecological health of the site.

“Each little sliver of an old type of woodland like that is a special spot,” Shondell said. “I just want to know that it’s taken care of.”