Family Park | What a Community Park Should Be
By INDIA YARBOROUGH, SAMANTHA MARSHALL and LAUREN JURGENSEN | Photos by BRIAN PETERS
Family Park may sound like just another green space. But what makes Shawnee County’s first new park in 50 years so special are its modern amenities — including 16 lighted pickleball courts.
Sean Zears, the marketing and communication supervisor for Shawnee County Parks + Recreation, said the master plan for the park’s ambitious community-focused design had been in the works for almost five years.
“It was big,” Sean said when describing the original plan for Family Park, which opened in August 2023. “It’s been scaled down since then, but we’re fortunate to have the first phase done. We’re hoping to do a second and third phase down the road.”
Even after scaling back the design, the community has no complaints about the new park. Family Park’s location at S.W. 21st and Urish Road is nestled among neighborhoods that had previously lacked a proper green space. The new park was a welcome addition.
“I used to live around that area and there really wasn’t a place where you could just go and play,” Sean said. “I think the park fills a void. A lot of the playground equipment and other suggestions for the park came from people in the community.”
FITNESS FOR ALL
Unsurprisingly, the Topeka Pickleball Association — a 300-members-strong organization representing locals who love the popular sport — is making use of the new courts.
“The pickleball courts are full all the time, and people are playing late at night,” Sean said.
Pickleball is just the beginning. Another crowning achievement at Family Park is the adaptive and inclusive playground designed for children of different ages and abilities.
“The adaptive community is so important to us,” Sean said. “We want to make sure everyone is able to enjoy the warm weather and go to a park. We don’t want to exclude anyone.”
A dedicated fitness loop for walking and jogging runs through the park. Meanwhile, plans are underway for an open-air shelter, which promises to be a gathering place for family reunions, birthday celebrations and other community events.
Sean was enthusiastic when he recalled the park’s opening day.
“The day it opened, the pickleball courts were completely full,” he said, adding that their usage remains high. “We had 50 or more kids at our ribbon cutting.”
Sean credited the community’s embrace of Family Park to its thoughtful design, as well as the overall quality of Shawnee County’s parks.
“People enjoy the parks here in Shawnee County,” he said. “We are really proud of the work that we do here, and the upkeep goes a long way.”
The ultimate goal is to keep Topeka’s population happy, healthy and eager to remain.
“We want people to stay here,” Sean said. “I think the most important thing is that the dollars people spend stay in Shawnee County.”
A LITTLE GREEN GOES A LONG WAY
Improving Topeka’s quality of life is essential for attracting and retaining residents. The ripple effect of keeping Topekans in Topeka is that it boosts local businesses and the overall economy of the city. By investing in parks that are modern and accessible, Shawnee County Parks + Recreation is elevating Topeka’s appeal.
“You can’t do that if you don’t offer really good facilities,” Sean said.
Sean said that Family Park, like all parks in Topeka, promotes mental health and community wellness.
“We want to make sure that people know that we’re here not only for the entertainment aspect, but for the mental health aspect, too,” he said.
Green spaces, he added, offer psychological benefits.
“Your mental health is so much better when you’re able to walk and listen to whatever you want to listen to, and just get that time to yourself,” Sean said, reflecting on the many walks he’s taken at Lake Shawnee, another local park.
Family Park’s walking trails and open spaces are a new opportunity for locals to relax and interact with neighbors. When families gather for picnics, friends meet for a friendly game of pickleball or neighbors cross paths on the walking trail, it improves the well-being of the community.
“Adding another park to an already fabulous system of parks and recreation programs, it just helps even more,” Sean said. “People see this park and decide they want to check out other parks, which leads to all of the parks being used more. I love that. We’re here for the long haul, and we’re here to help Shawnee County grow.”
