Ribbon-cuttings celebrate $1.5 million improvements for eastern KCK parks

It was a balmy, beautiful fall Friday afternoon as dozens of community members, elected officials, and parks staff gathered at two neighborhood parks in eastern Kansas City, Kansas to celebrate over $1.5 million in park improvements that officials say will be a milestone for historically underserved areas of Wyandotte County.

The back-to-back ribbon-cutting ceremonies at Klamm Park (27th Street, north of Parallel) and Kensington Park (west of 29th Street on Washington Ave.) showcased new walking trails, soccer fields, and lighting systems funded through a combination of congressional earmarks from U.S. Representative Sharice Davids, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks grants, and local capital improvement funds.

Community health at the heart of investment

The new amenities hope to address more than recreational needs. Wyandotte County has poor health outcomes compared to the rest of the state, which is a challenge that local officials have made a priority to address.

“These trails are really important when you talk about health outcomes here in Wyandotte County where we’ve struggled,” Mayor Tyrone Garner told attendees at Klamm Park. “Building these types of trails really gets families out and builds a healthier community.”

Angel Ferrara, Director of Parks and Recreation, emphasized the connection between park access and public health. “Wyandotte County consistently ranks last in state health rankings — something we are working hard to change,” Ferrara said. “Parks and trails are an essential part of that work.”

The numbers underscore the impact: approximately 6,800 residents live within a half-mile of Klamm Park, while 8,400 residents are within the same distance of Kensington Park. For many, the walking trails will eliminate the need to travel across town to find safe places to exercise.

“I’ve also spoken with several residents that are very happy that this new amenity is here because they no longer have to drive all the way out to the community college for a safe place to walk,” Ferrara noted.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum, who represents UG At-large District 1, praised the potential for positive change. “[It’s] Important that we make these improvements because they are a big step toward changing health outcomes for the people who live in our community.”

Klamm Park: 3/4-mile walking trail

The new three-quarter-mile, 10-foot-wide reinforced concrete walking trail at Klamm Park was funded primarily through a $400 thousand Community Project Funding Grant Award directed by Rep. Davids, with $22,772 in local Capital Improvement Program matching funds.

The trail joins other recently upgraded amenities at the park, including three tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and two basketball courts, transforming Klamm Park into what officials describe as a hub for recreation and community connection.

Kensington Park: Soccer and recreation complex

The more substantial upgrades at Kensington Park includes two 12U soccer fields with irrigation, a practice field, a one-third-mile reinforced concrete walking trail, and comprehensive lighting for the fields, trail, parking lot, and basketball court.

The project also repurposes the baseball stands for Kensington Park’s baseball field into bleachers for the new soccer fields.

Funding came from multiple sources: a $1 million Community Project Funding Grant Award directed by Davids, $105,680 from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Recreation Trails Program, and $26,420 from local CIP funds.

The soccer fields address a critical need. With over 700 youth participating in the department’s soccer programs annually, and more than 1,100 players over the past two years, the new fields provide accessible, high-quality facilities for inner-city youth who previously faced transportation barriers to reach facilities in western parts of the county.

“Soccer being one of our largest programs with 700-plus youth participating in our programs annually, this is a big deal for those youth, especially in the inner city,” Ferrara explained. “Oftentimes what we would hear is when we had our leagues out west, sometimes transportation was hard for some of those kiddos to participate.”

The timing is particularly significant with the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to the Kansas City metro area. “This couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Davids remarked. “Just knowing that kids in KCK are going to get the chance to see some of the world’s best players, but also to actually physically live out and dream big dreams is something that we can’t put a dollar figure on.”

Additional improvements planned for spring 2026 include rubberized surfacing on the walking trail to provide additional cushioning and grip.

Deliberate focus on eastern Wyandotte County

The park improvements represent a shift in how the Unified Government has approached investment in the eastern section of the city, particularly areas east of I-635 that the mayor stated have been “redlined, disinvested, and disenfranchised for far too long.”

Mayor Garner spoke emotionally about the transformation, recounting his experience as a Wyandotte High School graduate who grew up in the Parkwood neighborhood.

“When I became mayor, I met with Angel [Ferrara], and I came to her and said, unfortunately, what I’m seeing as the mayor is back in 1987,” Garner recalled. “I did not see a difference from when I became mayor in 2021. I said we owe it to our community to do better. Our community deserves better. East of 635 cannot be left out and left behind.”

The response has been systematic. According to Assistant County Administrator Alan Howze, the parks department has touched nearly every park east of I-635, from Quindaro in the northeast to Argentine in the south.

Federal pandemic recovery funds proved instrumental. “One of the key drivers of that was the Federal Recovery Act Funds and CARES Act funds,” Howze explained. “They did have a stipulation that you could only spend those on parks projects in zip codes that qualify or qualified census tracts. And that happens to be a lot of eastern Wyandotte County.”

Beyond walking trails, improvements have included basic infrastructure that previous administrations had neglected. “We were able to use those funds for amenities like the walking trail, but also basics like providing HVAC at Kensington and at all of our community centers, many of which did not have air conditioning and were essentially unusable for the hottest portions of the year,” Howze said.

Federal investment meets local need

Jeff Bender, Regional Supervisor for Trails at the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks, provided context for the state’s contribution through the Recreation Trails Program. The program distributes approximately $1.3 million annually in Kansas from federal gas taxes collected on off-highway vehicle fuel purchases.

“Trails are good things,” Bender said. “To me, the biggest thing that they are is community builders. They connect communities, and they also connect people.”

Davids reflected on the broader significance of federal support for local communities. “When I get the chance to request federal funding and look for ways that I can be impactful in this office, this is exactly the kind of project that we need more of,” she said.

The congresswoman, who represents Kansas’s 3rd Congressional District, noted that the positive impact extends beyond physical infrastructure. “It’s about more than soccer and walking trails. Those are just the physical evidence of the investment in community and people that really makes a difference,” Davids said. “It doesn’t matter what zip code you live in — you should have every single opportunity to thrive and to have fun and to be healthy as anyone, no matter what zip code they’re coming from.”

Parks only part of ongoing improvements

The park improvements are catalyzing private development as well. Howze noted that the park upgrades also support private housing development in the area.

“We have now an effort that’s underway to build several dozen homes just to the north of Klamm Park,” Howze said. “We were really working with private sector developers to say, here’s an area where we have land bank properties — the properties don’t cost anything. We have this public investment that has created a really nice amenity that is within easy distance of these homes. We think this is a great place to make those kind of private investments.”

The strategy is intentional: public investment begets private investment, creating a “flywheel” effect that has the potential to transform neighborhoods.

Additionally, the Unified Government is considering ways to encourage even more housing development, especially in eastern neighborhoods. After October’s contentious debate on the now-defeated homeless camping ordinance, the mayor instructed the county staff to research ways the UG could improve housing availability.

On Monday, Howze presented the planning commission with options to modify local zoning ordinances that can negatively affect housing supply.

These rules govern minimum square footage, lot size, building height, parking, property-line setbacks and more, and relaxing these rules would allow for different types of housing and more affordable options.

Longtime staffers recognized

The Kensington Park ceremony also recognized three longtime recreation staff members preparing for retirement: Ed Burton, who has been instrumental in the soccer program; George Steen, a recreation specialist who served at multiple community centers; and Shelly Burnett, program coordinator for activities and summer camp programs. Together, they represent nearly 50 years of service to Wyandotte County youth.

Recreation Manager Shaya Lockett noted that the department’s recreation team had spent the entire day planning for 2026 programming, demonstrating their commitment to maximizing the impact of the new facilities.

Safety and sustainability

Undersheriff Emmett Lockridge, sheriff’s deputies, and KCK police officers attended both ceremonies, underscoring the importance of security in making the parks successful. “We can upgrade the amenities, we can provide these great resources, but somebody has to keep our parks safe,” Garner noted.

The lighting improvements at Kensington Park directly address safety concerns. “Lighting in the park is so essential for safety, and not a lot of our parks have lighting, so this is a huge upgrade,” Ferrara said.

As federal recovery funds expire, officials acknowledge the challenge of maintaining these new facilities. The commission has discussed potential funding mechanisms, including increasing the transient guest tax, with a portion dedicated to parks, and community benefit ordinance funds from development projects.

“I think that’ll be an interesting question for the incoming mayor and commission to think about,” Howze said.

Looking forward

The Kensington Park soccer fields won’t officially open until spring 2026, allowing the turf time to establish properly. “The sod needs some time to grow, and we want to make sure we protect the field and that it’ll be a good amenity for the community for years to come,” Lockett explained.

More improvements are already in the pipeline. Davids called out Mount Marty Park, near the Rosedale Arch, as an upcoming grantee.

Garner, reflecting on his tenure as he prepares to leave office, expressed optimism about the trajectory. “As I leave the office of mayor, I leave reassured that the best is yet to come,” he said.