4 Parks and Rec locales in Lawrence to serve as cooling sites during extreme heat; camp for those experiencing homelessness gets new name

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Community Building at 115 W. 11th St. is pictured on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021.

As summer heat increases, the City of Lawrence is offering cooling sites at Parks and Recreation facilities to ensure that all residents are safe and have relief from extreme temperatures, the city said in a news release Wednesday.

Temperatures are expected to hit triple digits, with dangerous heat indexes, in coming days.

The following facilities will be open as cooling sites during their normal operating hours:

• Community Building, 115 W. 11th St.

• East Lawrence Recreation Center, 1245 E. 15th St.

• Holcom Park Recreation Center, 2700 W. 27th St.

• Sports Pavilion Lawrence, 100 Rock Chalk Lane.

The city website lawrenceks.org/lprd has information on the operating hours of each facility.

The Union Pacific Depot is not scheduled to be open this summer.

The city’s temporary support site in North Lawrence for those experiencing homelessness will have cold and frozen water bottles available for anyone in need, according to the release, which also noted that the site is now known as Camp New Beginnings following a vote by those staying there.