The City of Lawrence began planning for the renovations of the 11.5-acre O’Connell South Common in 2015 to address a decades-long decline in one of the city’s largest and most-utilized public spaces. The Common’s 1.1-mile network of paths and sidewalks were crumbling, and the drainage was failing. Residents expressed walking around the park at night because there were no lights along the paths. The deck hockey rink had not been used for well over a decade and its 10’ tall fence with barbed wire felt oppressive. Despite the park’s poor conditions, residents remained passionate about the Common. The shade provided by the large oak trees that dominate the western two-thirds of the common provide the perfect setting for residents to gather around the playground or bandstand. The park’s active recreation amenities were well utilized—the basketball court always had a game going on and youth and adult softball and baseball leagues regularly used the fields.
Over the past six years, the city has dramatically improved the park—the paths are well lit, and the old rink has been replaced by a multi-sport court (hockey/soccer/volleyball) and a basketball court under a shade structure. After the gas disaster the softball and baseball fields we reconstructed and irrigation has been added to the soccer field located between the diamonds. These efforts have been guided by a master plan that divided the common into four distinct zones. The eastern half is home to field sports, the hill along Salem Street has remained a passive space, the bandstand is the focus of the western end near South Union Street, and active recreation amenities are concentrated along Market Street.
O’Connell South Common Renovation Timeline
2018 Pathway and drainage reconstruction
2020 Sport courts and pathway lights
2020 Playground and bandstand concept development
2022 Playground & Bandstand groundbreaking (est)
2023 Playground & Bandstand ribbon cutting (est)
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