A popular Johnson County park will reopen soon after being closed for several months while undergoing an extensive renovation.
Visitors to Gum Springs Park in Shawnee will notice lots of improvements at the park when it reopens later this year. The park at 67th and Flint Streets has undergone a $3.7 million face-lift.
Renovations include the removal of an old asphalt trail and installation a new eight-foot wide concrete walking path around the perimeter of the 9.7-acre park. In addition to the walking path, improvements were made to the four baseball fields which include new fencing, updated backstops and new dugout boxes.
A 30-foot-tall hot air balloon play structure, dubbed, “Lunia” is the centerpiece of a new, modern playground with play and climbing equipment from Berliner Play Equipment. Bonded rubber safety surfacing surrounds the new playground, which includes several other brightly-colored climb and play structures. A recently installed restroom building, which opened in September of 2022, is steps away from the new playground.
The Parks and Pipes sales tax, a 1/8 cent citywide sales tax, funded the renovations at the park. Sands Construction is the general contractor on the project. Kate Kinkaid, program marketing manager for the City of Shawnee, said they hope to reopen the park by the end of the year.
