Can $154 million save Oklahoma City parks? See what is being planned

Shallowbrook Park in south Oklahoma City is like many neighborhood parks throughout the metro area.

The park — with its tiny playground, large grassy field and a wide cement sidewalk winding through and around it — is a source of recreation for the residents in the many homes near 4899 S Rhode Island Ave., an economically disadvantaged part of the city.

But 39-year-old Ingrid Everest, who often visits the park with her daughter, said she is concerned about safety issues at the site.

Glass shards from broken bottles were found scattered throughout the park, and tire tracks from vehicles doing doughnut maneuvers in the park's open space could be found on a recent afternoon. The charred remnants of a metal trash drum, which some residents said was incinerated during a Fourth of July incident, could still be seen imprinted into cement leading up to the graffiti-splattered benches.

"It's just sad that it's really the only public place around (here) for the families, but there's no safety," Everest said. "My daughter loves coming to this park, but I would like to see the city put more money into making it cleaner and safer and more secure."

Park users like Everest across Oklahoma City can take comfort in knowing the city is planning to invest more money into city parks, and project consultants are continuing to seek public feedback as Oklahoma City plans to allocate $154 million of MAPS 4 funding for the improvements.

The MAPS 4-budgeted "Parks Master Plan Development" project is set to upgrade every neighborhood and community park outside of the downtown Oklahoma City area. Of the $154 million budget, $70 million is expected to be set aside to specifically improve 105 parks throughout the Oklahoma City metro area.

City officials and planners with engineering consultants Kimley-Horn and Associates have been holding "open house" sessions and public forums since December for various groups of parks in different portions of Oklahoma City.

"Right now we've been having MAPS 4 meetings with residents to get information from them about park amenities," said Robert Culverhouse, public information and marketing manager for Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation. "We don't yet know the exact allocations, and we're waiting to get more information what amenities need to be established before we go further into the allocations."

More:Detectives arrest 11 for public indecency at Oklahoma City's Trosper Park

How will the MAPS 4 money be spent on OKC parks?

Other projects included as part of the MAPS 4 budget include:

• $22.2 million to fund expansion of public amenities at Lake Stanley Draper, renovations at Booker T. Washington Park, improvements at Minnis Lakeview Park, enhancements at the Northeast Community Center, and the construction of four new parks in Canadian and Cleveland counties, as well as northeast and southeast Oklahoma City.

• $12.8 million will fund improvements along the Oklahoma River and $32.3 million for C.B. Cameron Park and South Lakes Park.

• Basketball courts, pickleball facilities and community gardens are expected to be among the various improvements.

• The city also will allocate $17 million into a fund for operations and maintenance of the parks.

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Which parks could be improved through MAPS 4?

Currently, the city has divided various parks into different groups for evaluation and feedback.

The latest set of parks being assessed, called "Group H," are located primarily in southeast Oklahoma City. They include:

• Bob Akers Park

• Draper Park, a.k.a. Capitol Hill Park

• Frank Hathaway Park

• H.C. Schilling Park

• Mackleman Park

• Manuel Perez Park

• McCracken Park

• Oliver Park

• Rotary Playground Park

• Shallowbrook Park

• Southern Oaks Park

• Top O' the Town Park

Other parks also have been sectioned off into groups in recent weeks.

• "Group A" encompasses parks near Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser and located along Northwest Expressway.

• "Group B" includes parks north of Nichols Hills and The Village.

• "Group C" is for parks located south of Arcadia Lake but north of the North Canadian River.

• "Group D" includes parks sectioned off by Interstate 44 to the west, NW 63 to the north, N Classen Boulevard to the east and Interstate 40 to the south.

• "Group E" features parks also located in northwest Oklahoma City, with Will Rogers Park Conservatory given by planners as a reference point.

• "Group F" is for parks southwest of I-240 and north of the Canadian River.

• "Group G" includes parks south of I-40, east of S Walker Avenue and north of I-240.

Where can OKC residents go to provide comment on new park updates?

Residents are invited to submit feedback on conditions and recommendations regarding the parks by taking an online survey at MAPS4Parks.com.

The eighth “open house” meeting was held for “Group H” parks Saturday morning at Southern Oaks Recreation Center, 400 SW 66.

More:How three OKC neighborhoods are experiencing revitalization through a city-funded program

Staff at the Recreation Center oversee the adjacent Southern Oaks Park, which includes a playground often visited by the predominantly Latino families in the area.

But a concrete bridge directly between the park and the nearbly library shows clear signs of age, with rebar protruding visibly out of a hole in the bridge’s pathway while a creek, riddled with debris and garbage, runs beneath it.

Issues like those seen at the Southern Oaks and Shallowbrook parks potentially could be addressed by the MAPS 4 funding, but they are signs of investment disparities by the city that have adversely affected the south side for many years, said Sam Wargin, founder of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Association.

“The regular maintenance, I think, is something that I think would be really helpful for any type of investment in the parks of south Oklahoma City,” Wargin said. “It’s not just about the infrastructural improvements. It’s about the maintenance of the grounds.”

Temesegen Hands, 24, who works as a program coordinator with the children at the recreation center, agreed.

“Some in the community don’t always like the creek, because there’s a lot of trash build-up and the creek doesn’t always flow,” Hands said. “Sometimes the water will just sit stagnant, and it stinks. More maintenance could help with that."

Hands said fencing around the creek would be helpful so that children wouldn’t have to venture into it to retrieve basketballs as they’re playing games at the court nearby.

That’s an idea also suggested by Brenda Hernandez, 43, vice president of the Hispanic public relations firm, Tango, who said the basketball court itself “could use some tender loving care.”

“This park is just not being utilized to its fullest potential,” Hernandez said. “If we had more seating, more sidewalks, things that made the park more appealing, I know the community would utilize it even more.”

Darran Scott, a landscape architect for Kimley-Horn, said some maintenance funding through the MAPS 4 project likely could be used to help repair the bridge at Southern Oaks Park, if the city doesn’t step up and fix it earlier.

“Right now we’re just trying to see what people in the community and the neighborhoods that use these parks would like to see,” Scott said.

Consultants said more than 150 people have visited the “open house” sessions and over 1,000 comments have been submitted online so far.

“We’re hearing a lot about connectivity, playground improvements, more open space for activities and sports practice,” Scott said. “Pickleball and tennis courts is coming up a lot. People are asking for more safety upgrades, too, like improving lighting for better visibility, and more maintenance in general.”

For Everest and her daughter, increased security measures and outdoor fitness equipment would be their preferred upgrade to the park in their southside neighborhood.

"It's a very well-used park, but, again, it saddens me that it's not the safest," Everest said. "My daughter loves this park, and this is one of the ways we stay social with the people who live around us. I just wish it felt safer."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City planners seek public input on MAPS 4 funding for parks