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Group pushes for repairs to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City will soon have a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, but a park in the city already bears the civil rights icon's name. The green space and tennis courts can be found at Swope Parkway and Woodland Avenue.

The park's existence came up during the heated debate about renaming Paseo Boulevard.

"That's 42 acres. Drive by it tonight. Tell me you're proud to have his name on that park," Mayor Pro Tem Scott Wagner said before the vote.

Sam Dowdy, a member of the 47th Street Tennis Association, is not proud.

"I think we have a park named after Martin Luther King, and we care nothing about it," said Dowdy, who has pushed for repairs to the park for years.

There's a crack on every tennis court, trash around the grounds and no bathrooms or water fountains to be found.

Tennis players park their cars right next to the courts instead of in the parking lot, for fear of break-ins. That doesn't always prevent theft.

"I had my car broken into right there," Dowdy said, pointing to a spot by the courts.

Safety is a major concern.

"There might be kids who want to learn how to play tennis, and we want them to be in a safe and nice place to play," said James L. Watts, another member of the tennis association.

Between repairing and adding courts, building bathrooms and updating lights, the group wants $1.8 million in repairs done to the park.

Since 2015, both the tennis association and the parks department have submitted requests for funds to the Public Improvements Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations to the city for capital projects.

Request after request was denied.

"It's not a matter of this not being a worthy project. It's a matter of prioritization, and the community spoke loud and clear that they wanted our priorities to be at places like McCoy Park, Blue Valley Park," said PIAC 3rd District Member Melissa Robinson.

It's personal for Robinson, who learned how to play tennis at MLK, Jr. Square Park. Finally, this year the committee will recommend allotting money to the parks department to plan improvements.

Robinson realizes it's not what the tennis association was hoping for, but it's a step forward.

"We need to make sure that not only does it live up to Dr. Martin Luther King's name, but it lives up to the community's expectations and standards," she said.

Dowdy and Watts won't be satisfied until they see shovels in the ground.

"What I want them to do is make it where this park looks like other parks on the other side of Martin Luther King Boulevard," said Dowdy.

"Let's get it done. Enough talk about it, let's get it done," Watts added.

The PIAC members will release their recommended projects for the next budget cycle this month.