At its Feb. 1 meeting, the Environmental Commission approved staff recommendation to grant an amendment and a variance to city code that would allow an additional restroom facility to be built inside Zilker Park. Gary Gregson, the program coordinator from the Parks and Recreation Department, said that the facility would help accommodate growing traffic to […]
Parks
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Task force report recommends moving popular events to different parks
Parks facilities in East Austin are likely to become host sites for a variety of large events in the coming years as the city looks to reduce the event schedule at its major urban core parks. A move toward utilization of parks such as Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park and Onion Creek Memorial Park is […]
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Parks compliance with ADA to take 10 years
Nearly a year after the city’s established compliance deadline for the new American with Disabilities Act requirements, the Parks and Recreation Board heard a presentation on the city’s ADA transition plan during its Dec. 6 meeting. Jesus Lardizabal from Altura Solutions, the consulting firm working on the project, outlined a 10-year plan that would bring […]
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Parks board OKs Lamar Beach Master Plan
In advance of its appearance at the Dec. 8 City Council meeting, the Lamar Beach Master Plan was approved with recommendation by the Parks and Recreation Board when it met on Dec. 6. “This is a bad deal for the parks department in phase one,” said Mark Vane, the only board member who voted against […]
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Proposal stirs debate over whether internet would bring Pokemon or porn to parks
Members of the Parks and Recreation Board recently painted two very different images of a proposal to investigate the idea of bringing free Wi-Fi access to Auditorium Shores. In an 8-1 vote at their Oct. 25 meeting, board members passed a plan to take the first exploratory steps to introduce public internet to Auditorium Shores, in […]
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Parks and Rec Board hopes to make golf courses self-sustaining
Worried that Austin’s municipal golf courses are sucking money away from the city’s already underfunded parks, the Parks and Recreation Board is investigating how to make the courses pay for themselves. The city’s municipal golf courses have been operating at a loss for the last four years because of various difficulties ranging from flooding to […]
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Audit says PARD needs more data, money
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department may not be able to continue to provide services that citizens expect, and it faces the prospect of either cutting back on services or finding more funding in order to ensure the department’s long-term sustainability, according to a draft of an audit conducted by the Office of the City […]
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City begins work on new urban trails
Two new urban trails are set to begin construction next March, providing more options for Austinites who prefer to go carless. Teams should complete work on the Upper Boggy Creek Trail, serving neighborhoods on the east side, in November 2017. And work on a new section of the 30-mile Violet Crown Trail North, located in […]
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Why don’t Austin parks have recycling bins?
All commercial properties in Austin will be required by October of next year to have on-site recycling containers, but the same is not true of all properties owned by the government that put the requirement in place. The Parks and Recreation Department, the city agency one might expect to embrace green living most fervently, has […]
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Commissioners talk history
Austin’s boards and commissions continue to inspect the details of a plan for a $5.8 million face-lift for downtown’s Republic Square. At the Historic Landmark Commission, that means taking a look at how the area’s history is — and isn’t — being represented. Chair Mary Jo Galindo pulled the park’s master plan for further scrutiny […]
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Parks and Rec budget bogged down by golf
The Parks and Recreation Board is concerned that expenses from Austin’s city golf courses will overshadow the other needs in its already tight budget. At their meeting on June 29, board members looked over a budget forecast that predicts an increase of $11.9 million for the next fiscal year. But they pointed out that the […]
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Group pushing toward $220 million chain of parks downtown
For once, a discussion of Waller Creek at City Hall was almost entirely upbeat. City Council members were delighted during a work session Tuesday to hear an update on an ambitious $220 million project to create a long, narrow public space that stretches from Waterloo Park on 15th Street to Lady Bird Lake. The plan […]