Parks & Rec plan showcases need for developments in city's east and south ends

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Lafayette’s Parks and Recreation board on Monday approved a five-year master plan that aims to address the concerns caused by the city’s continued expansion.

Much of the action items highlighted in the plan revolved around constructing public facilities that are highly desired by the community, as well as addressing the city’s need to construct more parks on the east and south sides of Lafayette.

Columbian Park’s carousel

For those wondering about the progress of Columbian Park’s carousel, the master plan broke the news that it isn’t expected to be completed until 2026.

However, Claudine Laufman, superintendent of Lafayette’s Parks & Recreation department, also noted that the date indicated in the master plan isn’t set in stone.

“The company continues to work on our pieces, it’s just very slow going. Incredibly slow going,” Laufman said.

“There are other projects they are working on as well. It’s a very small family-owned operation, and they not only work and repair the carousel, but they also work on other amusement rides, trains and even car projects. There’s a lot going on.

“We would love for it to be done sooner," she said, "but I honestly can’t say without certainty of a final date. They haven’t been able to get a concrete date.”

The carousel was expected to be completed in 2020, but then the community was informed that it would be pushed back to a 2022 unveiling, which was then delayed for an additional two years. This will be the third time the delivery of the carousel has been delayed.

Other aspects of the plan

Several interesting elements of the park department’s new plan were the focus on providing public facilities and parks to communities over 18 years old throughout the city.

When Deb Schmucker, president and CEO of Cornerstone Planning & Design Solutions, and her team sent out a survey to the local community, they were surprised to see the level of demand for new sports public facilities and walking paths.

Schmucker and her team speculated that this might be a byproduct of Tippecanoe County’s increasing population between the ages of 18 to 40, and the subsequent decrease in population between the ages of 3 to 17, according to U.S. Census data.

To address this demand, the new plan focuses on developing pickleball courts and walking paths at McCaw Park, the development of a new pocket park in downtown Lafayette, and the creation of a new disc golf course at one of Lafayette’s parks.

The plan showcased the department’s desire to design and construct a new skate and BMX park in Lafayette. Although nothing has been approved for a new skatepark, the plan indicated that the city expects to complete this project in 2026.

The plan also showcased the department’s intentions to construct more splash pads in one other city park, the construction of a shade structure at both Shamrock Dog Park and Columbian Park and the completion of Columbian Park and Columbian Park Zoo renovations.

The need for more parks

Schmucker’s presentation emphasized the city’s lack of parks within the east and south portions of the city.

Most of the city’s public parks are located between Creasy Lane and Veterans Memorial Parkway and are approximately a 10-minute walk away from most people within those neighborhoods.

However, as the city’s population grew beyond these major roads, the desire to build public parks in those fledgling neighborhoods did not follow. Because of that, there are many residents who do not have a park within walking distance.

Schmucker also noted that Tippecanoe County did not meet Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ comprehensive outdoor recreation plan recommendations for available recreational areas.

The state recommends a municipality provide 20 acres of regional outdoor recreation space for every 1,000 people. When it comes to the county, it only provides 3,302 acres to residents, but the state recommends the county provide upwards of 3,860 acres.

When it comes to Lafayette, the city only provides 631.7 acres of land. The state recommends the city provide 1,415 acres of land to the public.

To address these issues, the department's new plan proposes more parks within the eastern and southern portions of the city, as well as hiring enough staff to take care of these newly developed parks.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on X at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Parks plan showcases need for development and explains carousel delay