Palm Park improvements are among the next steps for Waterloo Greenway project

A recent city memo and presentation to the Downtown Commission last week offer some up-close looks at the progress and next steps for the Waterloo Greenway project that is making major improvements along Waller Creek’s route through downtown.

The memo from Jorge Morales, director of the Watershed Protection Department, and the presentation from the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy showed that the next major milestone for the project will be the transition to the redevelopment of Palm Park following the completion of the Confluence construction in 2026. With community engagement efforts complete and design milestones advancing, Waterloo Greenway Conservancy officials are preparing to finalize schematic designs for the next phase.

The Confluence phase, which is focused on creek and trail improvements between Fourth Street and Lady Bird Lake, is now more than halfway complete, with an expected finish by mid-2026. Improvements in that area include large-scale tree planting, erosion control measures and habitat restoration initiatives.

The memo outlines the spatial requirements for creek bank stabilization and pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure, emphasizing the need for erosion control through grading adjustments and native vegetation. It highlights efforts to design accessible trails and boardwalks that enhance connectivity while minimizing environmental impact.

Regarding ecosystem services, the memo discusses quantifying benefits such as water filtration and carbon sequestration in new riparian areas. It explores environmental infrastructure options like engineered wetlands and bioswales (shallow ditches where stormwater can collect) that provide superior ecological benefits within limited urban space. The project aims to maximize sustainability through adaptive management and ongoing monitoring.

Watershed Protection is pursuing coordination with all relevant city departments and state agencies, particularly the Texas Department of Transportation, to align the park’s design with broader infrastructure projects, such as the reconstruction of Interstate 35.

Commission and conservancy members discussed the importance of securing the funding to maintain the park’s long-term viability and the potential disruptions posed by other construction activities in the area. Efforts are currently underway to explore additional funding opportunities and establish partnerships that will help sustain the park’s operations and maintenance once it is fully operational.

“With all of this planned buildout that you’ve already started implementing, I think having the ability with a defined (operations and maintenance) plan and the funding to maintain this, the last thing the community would want is to have a beautiful buildout and then within a year or two years a decline,” Commissioner Charles Peveto said. “Having the ability to maintain that from day one moving forward is very important.”

Palm Park, located adjacent to the historic Palm School in downtown Austin, represents a key component of the project. Design plans incorporate play areas, gathering spaces and preservation of existing heritage elements such as the shelter house and tree canopy. Construction is expected to begin immediately after the completion of the Confluence phase in 2026, with the park no longer used to assist in staging and logistics purposes for work on the Confluence.

Responding to a question about the impact of the I-35 project and other construction on the improvements and ecological considerations for the creek, John Rigdon, the conservancy’s chief planning and design officer, said the caps planned over sections of the highway will assist in the project’s goal of improving east-west connectivity.

“The original charge for Waller Creek Conservancy at the time … was reconnecting east and west, and so with the highway there was a huge challenge,” he said. “We can get really close with Palm Park, but the highway was always a barrier. We see it as a huge opportunity, particularly with the potential cap at Cesar Chavez to Fourth Street, to actually have that seamless connection between East Austin and Palm Park, restoring that east-west connection.”

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