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Most Popular Stories
- Austin unveils how light-rail could change the city in new report with detailed maps
- Dirty no more? City opts to keep Sixth Street open to traffic at all times
- Lost Creek neighborhood sues city over tax efforts
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- Most Austin-area drivers will still need a vehicle inspection. Here’s where the rules have changed.
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- SBA issues grant to open office for women entrepreneurs in Austin
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- City is preserving affordable housing near the Domain
- Report: Austin home prices grew 85 percent since 2014
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Parks
Parks board to ask Council to explain why it bypassed public input on a Lady Bird Lake boat rental concession
Members of the Parks and Recreation Board said Monday they will ask City Council to reexamine a 2019 ordinance that circumvented public input to allow an adventure excursion company to operate a boating concession on Lady Bird Lake. The request…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Jul 26, 2024
Parks board recommends beefing up funding for city parks maintenance
With increasing challenges in maintaining grounds within Austin’s busy parks system, the Parks and Recreation Board voted Monday to recommend that City Council allocate an additional $2.62 million to the Parks and Recreation Department budget for the new fiscal year.…
Budget • By Amy Smith • Jul 24, 2024
After lake drownings, safety upgrades come to Rainey Street trailhead
Lee esta historia en español More than a year after community members called for better lighting and safety measures along a portion of Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street, permanent upgrades are finally nearing completion. The pleas and demands came…
Parks • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Jul 2, 2024
Parks Board hears from the public on the next (and former) PARD director
The Parks and Recreation Board got an earful of public testimony earlier this month regarding the city’s national search to replace former parks director Kimberly McNeeley. McNeeley recently left the Parks and Recreation Department after accepting the position of CEO…
City Hall • By Amy Smith • Jul 2, 2024
Austin adds more than a dozen shade structures to recreation areas. Here's where to find them.
In an effort to beat the heat, several shade structures are going up at public parks, playgrounds and pools around town. Austin dedicated $4 million to provide more shade in public places. City officials said it has become necessary as…
Parks • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Jun 28, 2024
City launches free swim pilot program, eliminating fees at Walnut Creek Pool this summer
Austin is moving forward with a pilot program aimed at reducing pool fees as a way of increasing access this summer. The city will eliminate fees entirely at Walnut Creek Pool in North Austin and offer two free days at…
Parks • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jun 20, 2024
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Council members are looking into need for increased funds for parks maintenance
Austin’s parkland acreage is growing along with the population – however, staffing for maintenance of those parks has not kept pace, according to a report discussed Wednesday among City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee. After comparing the number of parks…
Parks • By Jo Clifton • May 23, 2024
Travis County will turn family's ranch into 1,500 acres of public parkland
Travis County commissioners plan to add about 1,500 acres to the county’s wilderness parklands, protecting the pristine land from development and setting it up as a future destination for hikers and bicyclists. The $90 million deal to purchase a privately…
Parks • By Sangita Menon, KUT • May 21, 2024
ACL Fest shows $499M economic impact, with $8.1M donated to parks improvements
The 2023 edition of the Austin City Limits Music Festival generated nearly half a billion dollars in economic impact for the area, according to results of an analysis released Monday. The fest’s $499.9 million in financial activity represented a 12…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • May 14, 2024
PARD updates plans for new Dougherty and for cultural center expansions
The city is moving forward with plans to replace the Dougherty Arts Center with a new multiphased facility located in the Butler Shores Park area. The Parks and Recreation Department plans to begin the permitting process for the new arts…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 11, 2024
Council approves renaming bathhouse in honor of Joan Means Khabele
City Council on Thursday approved the renaming of the bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool in honor of the woman who, as a teenager, led the first “swim-in” at the segregated pool in an act of civil disobedience. With the unanimous…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Apr 5, 2024
Austin’s giant troll is finally finished. Here’s where you can find her.
Pease Park’s newest art installation is tucked away in the woods, but she’s hard to miss. Malin is an 18-foot-tall troll made of local and repurposed wood. And in her hands is an offering: a basin full of water to…
