Whitewater bandwagon

A National Public Radio report Tuesday discussed the tremendous popularity of whitewater parks, which attract kayakers and rafters and, in the process, boost local economies. Turns out these in-stream attractions aren’t just for mountain regions: Wichita has an informal one at the spillway at I-235 and the Arkansas River.
Jim Johnson, president of the Kansas Canoe and Kayak Association, and contributor to Wednesday’s Reader Views, has long pitched the idea of improving and promoting the spillway site as a whitewater park — something that would take leadership and cooperation among the city, county, state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The economic realities of it are apparent,” Johnson told The Eagle. “It is a bandwagon nationally.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

One Comment

  1. Joe Williams
    Posted June 15, 2005 at 5:57 pm | Permalink

    I see people fishing there. I always wonder if there is really any fish or if it is a hot spot for fish. Just seems a bit dangerous standing on the edge with a pole with the rushing water below.