A number of people who have opposed expansion of the tennis courts at Woods Park have been at it a long time — long enough that one of them still has a file containing a transcript of a City Council meeting from three decades ago.
Vernon Forbes, who has lived on South 32nd Street across from the southern end of Woods Park since 1985 and who got involved in the opposition of an earlier tennis expansion plan in 2005, is the file-keeper.
He doesn’t remember going to a Feb. 18, 1992, City Council meeting, but somebody, somewhere along the way, gave him a transcript of it.
At the meeting the City Council considered — and ultimately approved — a master plan for the park, the first update since the park’s 1954 master plan that set out the framework for the expansive green space near 33rd and O streets.
That master plan — which was for the entire park — included adding six more tennis courts on the southern end at some point.
At the time, there were 12 courts, including six under the “bubbles” (also lots of opposition to those). That’s also the end of the park where the swimming pool and a baseball field are located.
What Keep it Green members point out in the transcript is a back-and-forth between a council member and the president of what was then the Lincoln Tennis Association.
In it, Councilman Ken Haar asks the tennis association president if the six courts would be the extent of the expansion. The president says it would be. If there was a need to expand further, Haar, asked, then what?
The response: “. . We have done some thinking about that . . .that down the road we do need to consider expanding our facility, but we aren’t intending to do that at Woods, and that needs to be at some other site.”
An engineer from Clark Enersen who worked on developing the 1992 master plan also testified that six more courts could be accommodated, but that’s all.
“We would go on record saying when these six more courts get developed that should really be the end of the tennis court development at Woods Park,” the transcript quotes him as saying.
A lot has happened since then — the city’s grown and the master plan has been amended at least twice, but the latest proposal would result in more than six additional courts since 1992. And tennis officials argue now that it’s important to keep all the facilities at Woods.
J.J. Yost, Lincoln Parks and Recreation planning and facilities manager, said that at some point shortly after the 1992 master plan was approved, three courts were added, for a total of 15.
Forbes remembers well his involvement in 2005, when the tennis organization proposed adding an additional three courts. At the time, he did his own research, wrote a guest column for the newspaper and spoke at a city council meeting.
The council voted to remove three additional courts from the master plan then and made some other changes.
In 2017, a new indoor facility with six courts was built, the bubbles were removed and the six courts beneath them became outdoor courts. The renovation also resulted in the removal of three outdoor courts, Yost said. That made a total of 18 courts (six inside and 12 outdoors).
The latest proposal would add four additional indoor courts, displacing three of the outdoor courts and would add six more outdoor courts. That’s a net addition of three outdoor courts and four indoor courts. So the total number of courts would be 25.
That’s seven more additional courts than the 1992 master plan called for.
If you’re one of those drivers, this might help: A Google app called Waze, to which city officials provide construction information so drivers will know what streets are undergoing construction.
The city provides information on planned construction projects and streets closed for events such as the city’s marathon, said Thomas Shafer, Lincoln Transportation and Utilities assistant director of transportation. It doesn’t cost the city anything but can be helpful for drivers.
“We feel that’s a good thing to do,” Shafer said.
Planned events work better, he said, but if a train derailed or a water main broke, it could be added, though it would have to happen during working hours.
One thing Shafer likes is that it also provides information it gleans from users who provide information on accidents, stopped vehicles and objects on the road; as well as aggregate data that reflects average speeds on roadways and traffic slowdowns.
Some cities also use a feature, installed on first responder vehicles, that activates when they turn on lights and sirens and alerts users to firetrucks or ambulances coming their way.
Lincoln doesn’t do that, but it has provided construction information since 2014.
If you’re like me, and just found out, it might be worth a try.
New library website
The city is giving itself a bit of a digital facelift.
Last month, it unveiled a new logo —an eight-pointed star in various colors that represents the city’s “multifacetedness and inclusivity.”
This month: Lincoln City Libraries unveiled a redesigned website at lincolnlibraries.org.
The new design replaces a website designed in 2015 and features improved site search capabilities and easier navigation, said city libraries director Ryan Wieber. The website also meets current standards for accessibility and readability.
“Regular visitors to the site will notice right away how much easier it is now to search for material, place holds and access digital resources,” said Dan Sloan, library board president.
The city selected GHD Digital through an RFP process to do the redesign for $108,715.
A Woods Park: Keep It Green sign is seen on Feb. 26. Neighborhood residents and other parks supporters who organized in opposition to expanding the tennis facilities said they will look for ways they can help make the park better.