Improvement work on Emporia’s Quaker Park is set to begin soon.
Two years after Emporia City Commissioners voted to keep the park as is back in 2024, the current commission voted this past week to award a bid of just over $30,500 to L. Underwood LLC for the installation of a new walking trail and needed grading of the park, according to Emporia Director of Public Lands and Facilities Kevin Hanlin.
This work will see the removal of all of the park’s current amenities, including its basketball court and hoop; however, Hanlin says they will be added back and in better shape than before. Also, the park will see the addition of the new climbing wall, which was recently purchased through a combination of dollars from an Evergy grant, the United Way and the City of Emporia, with that amenity currently on its way, according to Hanlin.
He says the wall should arrive within the next two to three weeks. As for the entire project timeline, Hanlin says it is an “open timeframe” at the moment and will be highly weather dependent.
If you recall, back in 2024 the park was placed on the city’s surplus property list with plans of converting it into a small housing development just a year ago. A petition campaign was then developed in opposition to those plans, gaining hundreds of signatures and ultimately leading to the commissioners changing their minds.
