Leah Wankum  - Shawnee

Shawnee bringing food truck plazas, other upgrades to these 2 city parks

Shawnee is planning to build food truck plazas and make other facility upgrades at two city parks, including Gum Springs Park and Swarner Park. The work includes adding storage facilities to accommodate sports tournaments and events. Above, an eighth-grade baseball club enjoys practice Tuesday evening at Gum Springs Park. Photo credit Leah Wankum.

Two of Shawnee’s parks are getting facility upgrades, including new food truck plazas, to enhance park visitors’ experiences.

Where exactly: Swarner Park at 6220 Lackman Road and Gum Springs Park at 11524 W. 67th St. will undergo about $1.2 million in improvements.

These projects mark the first of many park improvements the city plans to complete as part of the city’s Imagine Shawnee vision, according to city documents.

The Shawnee City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to hire Kansas City-based Centric Projects for $1,215,738 to complete the renovations.

City staff said the goal is to enhance visitors’ experiences at the parks.

Here’s a design image of an upgraded restroom at Swarner Park. Image via Shawnee city documents. 

Project details: Both Shawnee parks will undergo substantial improvements, including:

  • restroom facility upgrades to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act,
  • addditional storage facilities for field maintenance equipment, particularly during periods of heavy use such as sports tournaments and special events,
  • an enlarged concrete patio with seating and electrical connections for food trucks and other vendors at Gum Springs Park
  • and at Swarner Park, additional electrical connections coming to the south side of the main parking lot for food trucks.

Next steps: City staff said they intend to complete both projects this year. However, no timeline has been established, and it could still be impacted by supply chain issues for construction materials.

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