Environmental Commission can’t agree on Polo Fields parking solution

After a lengthy discussion, the Environmental Commission this week tabled an item that would recommend the Parks and Recreation Department end vehicle parking on the Zilker Park Polo Fields.

The discussion happened at the commission’s Aug. 2 regular meeting, and the recommendation was written by Commissioner Richard Brimer. As the recommendation notes, the parks department currently is just halfway to its goal of phasing out overflow parking on the fields during the summer weekends. Due to the parking, the area is heavily compacted and ecologically degraded.

Currently, the city prohibits parking on the fields from Sept. 4 until May 31, as well as during weekdays year-round – except for large annual special events, such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival, the Zilker Holiday Tree Lighting and ABC Kite Fest.

The city has grappled for years with the question of how to replace overflow event parking on the metropolitan park’s Polo Fields. In 2019, the Zilker Park Working Group recommended the practice end by May 2022. The Parks and Recreation Department is now more than a year behind schedule on this timeline.

The recommendation notes that the city is in its second year of offering a free external shuttle to the park from One Texas Center, which has 750 parking spaces. It also states the “Butler Gravel Lot has more available parking spaces than are currently permitted” at the Polo Fields.

But not all commissioners were convinced the parks department is ready to make the switch. One concern is the effect the change would have on families with children, Commissioner David Sullivan told the Austin Monitor.

“You have to consider people who aren’t as lucky as me to live near there,” said Sullivan, who was appointed by District 9 Council Member Zo Qadri. “It’s not about me. It’s about a family with kids, or somebody who has an older person who can’t stand out in the 105-degree temperature to wait for a shuttle. There are so many different issues about this.”

Other commissioners also requested more input on the change from Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Watershed Protection Department.

“There’s a general consensus that it’s a good idea. … It’s a good idea to remove parking from there and revert it back to recreational use,” Sullivan said. “But the point is, what about the families that go to Zilker Park? What are they going to do? So it’s kind of a trade-off between the environmental issue of protecting Zilker Park and getting more green space versus the humanitarian issues about (how) that’s Austin’s backyard. How are we going to make it available to more people?”

Brimer confirmed to the Monitor that the recommendation will undergo changes before returning to the commission, but he emphasized the transition is already behind schedule.

“We withdrew it in order to make changes that will broaden its appeal,” Brimer said. “It’s time to pull the plug on the Polo Fields and move on to the next problem.”

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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