Overland Park plans to address overcrowding in the parking lot at Sykes/Lady Overland Park Golf Club by expanding the parking area.
The Overland Park Planning Commission on Monday voted 10-0 to approve a revised preliminary plan and a final plan for the parking lot addition. Planning Commissioner Janie Thacker was absent from the meeting.
Additionally, last week, the Overland Park Community Development Committee voted to put the project on the city’s 2024 capital improvement plan list.
Previously, the city had considered other solutions like shuttle buses from Quivira Park and valet parking at the club, but Assistant Director of Recreation Services Bryan Toben said those options wouldn’t have addressed the parking problem long term.
Parking is a chief concern at Overland Park golf course
- Since the golf club reopened in 2019, the popularity of the golf course has put strain on the existing parking lot, Toben said.
- There are roughly 260 parking spaces now, and the lot is filled seven days a week “at absolute capacity,” Toben said. Frequently, people park along curbs and islands in the parking lot as well.
- He told the Community Development Committee last Wednesday that lack of parking is one of the biggest complaints he hears from golfers.
- Sometimes, he said, people skip their tee time entirely because they can’t find a place to park.
Golf course parking lot expansion will cost roughly $1.5 million
- The expanded parking lot will add 136 more parking spots at the Sykes/Lady golf course, just north of the current lot.
- Overland Park also plans to design the lot to accommodate electric vehicles in the future.
- Work is expected to begin in early January and be finalized in May 2024.
- The project will require the city to remove the two practice greens near the parking lot now, but the city plans to relocate the practice areas at some point.
- Overland Park plans to use some of the reserves in the city’s golf fund to pay for the full project price tag.
Looking ahead:
- Overland Park also plans to update the parking lot at St. Andrews Golf Club near 135th Street and Switzer Road.
- Other renovations are planned at St. Andrews as well, though what exactly that will look like is unclear.
More on this: Overland Park golf course to see renovations this fall
