I just happened to notice there's an area on the south side of Lake Hefner that's had all of the underbrush and a few of the smaller trees cleared out. I don't drive by there too often, nor do I have any idea how long the area has been cleared out. So I'm wondering if maybe(?) the city is in the process of creating a new picnic area. The area in question is the green outlined area, plus I took pics of it. Anyone know anything??

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Good question. Years ago when there was a Lake Hefner Boat Owners Assoc we tried to get the city to do just this because of drug dealing/use that went on in that area. But we never got anywhere. I used to have contacts about lake happenings but don't anymore.

It may just clean up for safety's sake, especially since the nearby path is so heavily used. That is one area that doesn't feel very safe for pedestrians, especially in the evening.

Also, it greatly reduces the risk of fire.

I saw the same thing yesterday and wondered too. Saw a crew at work clearing it out. I assumed they were clearing out the scrub and brush and leaving most all of the trees alone. Certainly makes it look better.

On a related (but not really) note, on the NE side of Lake Hefner, north of the overflow parking lot north of the restaurants, I saw some work happening near the pavilions right by the lake. It looks like they are adding cinder blocks to raise the area. It has been happening gradually for several weeks now as we go out there all of the time.