By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The electronic Bird scooters were introduced to Great Bend last March allowing residents to ride the devices around town. There was a learning curve with the scooters with regards to safety, but also potential areas that needed to be restricted.
The City of Great Bend and Great Bend Recreation Commission are splitting a $22,000 bill to repair the tennis court surfaces at Veterans Memorial Park that were damaged by scooters.
GBRC Executive Director Diann
Henderson said contact was made with the scooter company to block off certain
areas of town for scooter access.
"The scooters will get down to a point where they won't operate in certain locations," said Henderson. "We've identified other areas in which that will happen too. The My Backyard Playground, Veterans toddler playground and fitness trail equipment have all been identified as areas where those scooters are brought down to a lower speed."
A quote was received from Mid-America Courtworks to repair the damage on the
tennis court surfaces. The repair work will be a partial resurfacing of the
west and east tennis courts. The damaged areas will be touched up and there will be one coat of
paint to the entire surface to include both inside and outside the lines.
"We want to get the repairs on the contractor's schedule," said Henderson. "He's booked pretty far in advance. Hopefully we can have it done yet this fall."
The intent is to get the repair project done this fall or early next spring if
weather cooperates.
With the cost share, the Recreation Commission’s portion of the expense is
$11,000.