Editor’s note: This story is part of a series examining the 10-year Parks and Recreation master plan approved by the City Commission. The plan is based on survey results from residents about what they want to see in Eudora and includes renovations to existing parks, new parks and other initiatives to better recreation in town.
Making Eudora’s access to the Wakarusa River more of a destination is one of the Parks and Rec Department’s goals in the coming years.
The boat ramp is part of ongoing conversations with not only the city, but also the county and its open space plan for the Wakarusa corridor, Director Sally Pennington said. Native Lands of Kansas and Friends of the Kaw have been involved with programming and idea planning for the area.
The idea is to make it more of a destination with kayak storage lockers, bathrooms, more lighting, shade structures and better parking, Pennington said.
“It gets used more than people know, and it’s such a gem that people don’t know that it’s one of the only entrance points to the Kaw,” she said.
The city received a grant in partnership with Native Lands of Kansas to bring native plants to the area, and is now able to bring those plants to other parts of town. Because some of the land near the river is privately owned, it also requires working with private partners to continue to make it a more distinct amenity, Pennington said.
The goal is for the Great Kaw Adventure Race to also draw people back to the boat ramp area, she said. With the Pilla Park renovations, it’s another entrance to the city that they hope will tie it back to the river area, she said.
Continuing to try to better the ramp each year will be an ongoing goal, with some plans hopefully coming in this year’s capital improvement plan for the parks, she said.
There is signage in the area, but the city could continue to do more to make it a place for families to spend time, Assistant Parks and Rec Director Jimmy Kegin said.
“That should be a destination,” he said. “In our eyes, it should be a destination.”
They are purposely earmarking money for the boat ramp so that it doesn’t get forgotten again, Pennington said. It could be more of a place for families to gather under shade structures, but it’s also already gotten better from where it was previously, she said.
Everything put there also has to be flood proof, because the area will flood no matter what, Kegin said.
Connecting and adding trails in the city is also a priority after residents said in a survey that they want to see more sidewalks.
Trails for the city have been prioritized with grant funding over the last couple of years. The main hope is connectivity, so getting the pedestrian bridge crossing over K-10 was a big step to that for the city, Pennington said.
Getting pedestrians from 20th to Winchester to allow them a safe way to get from Bluejacket to the schools would be the next goal, she said. The city is always looking for grants for these kinds of projects, she said.
The following graphic shows existing and possible trail routes:
With the federal BUILD grant back on, that will be one of the significant projects coming for pedestrians as it improves sidewalk connectivity near the high school, she said.
Pilla Park will have better connectivity down Main Street with the sidewalks included in the grant the city received. That could also connect Pilla Park more to the Wakarusa Boat Ramp.
A grant from the state will also help bring more sidewalks in front of the Rec Center, on 12th Street and Elm within the next year or so.
The goal is to be able to have residents walk or bike to parks and schools. Although sidewalks aren’t often brought up by people as being needed in town, the city notices that they are consistently used when they are built, Pennington said.
The last few grant projects related to sidewalks have been major successes, and they also help with the city’s 5K races with less need to close streets, Kegin said.
The city also has to be aware that adding new amenities and paths means a need for staffing and equipment to take care of them, too, Pennington said. For example, new paths and trails mean more need for plowing services, so last year the city invested in a new gator with blade attachment.
Renovations to Pilla Park in the coming year will help set the tone for more improvements to the boat ramp in the future, Interim City Manager Zack Daniel said.
