Improvements Coming for Hoops at Lakewood Park

The city administration has made some strides responding to a few suggestions from a couple of city council members about the basketball hoops at Lakewood Park. 

But other concerns — such as installing drinking fountains and making the park “residents only” — don’t seem to be part of the game-plan.

Earlier this year, Tom Bullock and Monique Smith penned a letter to fellow council members, encouraging a discussion on outdoor basketball in Lakewood. The topics ranged from supervision and better access to improved community policing.

In a letter to council, Mayor Michael Summers outlined the city’s efforts.

The city added 2.5 seasonal staff members to focus on Lakewood, Madison, Kauffman and Wagar parks — with the primary focus on Lakewood and Madison — and city officials calling for better communication with police officers.

Working with the Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee, the city will also hire and oversee basketball supervision, responsible for keeping an eye out for enforcing the rules at the court.

Also, plans are in the works to build a fence around the new court at Lakewood Park this summer.

Summers said that renovation of the bathrooms — a main concern of Bullock and Smith — is “dependent on the broader renovation/repurposing of the skate house.”

Smith said she believes there’s still work to be done, but added she won’t likely pursue additional legislation.

“I think I’ve gone as far as I want to go with it,” she said. “There is some disagreement between Mayor Summers about these decisions and how we go about it. I feel comfortable that I’ve thrown this out there. 

"I want Lakewood Park to be a place to go where families go with their children.”

At-large councilman Ryan Nowlin said he’d support discussing the matter further at a public safety committee meeting.

“I think it’s important to get feedback from police officers on this issue,” he said.

Ward 4 councilwoman Mary Louise Madigan said she believes that adding a fence is “absolutely necessary so that no one gets hurt.”

“I am glad to hear that a fence is going up,” she said. “I do not think it is OK to have crummy bathrooms at a public park.”

Madigan also added that “some things, like water fountains, are essential.” 

The effort to get basketball hoops back in Lakewood hasn't exactly been a slam-dunk. Hoops started coming down around Lakewood several years ago, with the last public court removed in 2007.

A pilot program at Kauffman Park — largely considered a success — paved the way for the new half-courts at Lakewood Park last year.