Due to COVID-19, and in keeping with best practices for the continued health of the community, all playgrounds and outdoor fitness areas operated by the Johnson County Park and Recreation District are being closed to the public beginning Wednesday, March 25, and remain in place until at least April 23, JCPRD officials announced. JCPRD parks and trails will remain open.
All 21 playgrounds and two fitness areas containing outdoor exercise equipment are closed. While these areas are not physically closed, signage is being put up .
JCPRD Executive Director Jeff Stewart said the decision to close playgrounds for about a month was a tough one to make, and was arrived at in consultation with other area agencies.
"Prior to making this decision, I communicated with a number of neighboring park and recreation agencies about concerns over the last few days," he said. "The other three CORE 4 teams (Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan.; Jackson County, Mo.; Kansas City, Mo.) have also closed or are in the process of doing so this week. Additionally, according to a recent National Recreation and Park Association Survey, 53 percent of the respondents have closed their playgrounds while nearly 90 percent of the respondents have left their parks and trails open to the public. Most of the park and recreation municipal agencies within Johnson County have not yet closed playgrounds, but have instead used signage to discourage use, similar to what was created by JCPRD. It is possible that they will soon follow the action taken by JCPRD."
JCPRD playgrounds include: two playgrounds in Antioch Park, 6501 Antioch Road, Merriam; three playgrounds in Shawnee Mission Park, 7900 Renner Road, Shawnee and Lenexa; three playgrounds in Heritage Park, 16050 Pflumm Road, Olathe; three playgrounds in Thomas S. Stoll Memorial Park, 12500 W. 119th Street, Overland Park; two playgrounds in Meadowbrook Park, 9101 Nall Ave., Prairie Village; four playgrounds in the Mill Creek Streamway Park, including the access points at 1700 Northgate St, Olathe, 19803 87th Lane, Lenexa, 5946 Barker Road, Shawnee, and 19425 Wilder Dr., Shawnee; and one playground each in Big Bull Creek Park, 20425 Sunflower Road, Edgerton; Kill Creek Park, 11670 Homestead Lane, Olathe; Lexington Lake Park, 8850 Sunflower Road, De Soto; and Stilwell Community Park, 207th and Metcalf, Stilwell. Also closed are fitness areas containing outdoor exercise equipment in Meadowbrook and Heritage parks.
Basketball and tennis courts in Antioch Park, and pickleball courts in Meadowbrook Park are also closed.