The Austin Parks Foundation has laid out its plans to restore the beloved train formerly known as the Zilker Zephyr, which ceased operations last year. In January 2020, after more than two decades in operation, the owners of the Zephyr announced in a Facebook post that they were shutting down for good after rainstorms in […]
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The city department responsible for the city’s park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Posted inParks
PARD gives update on cemetery improvement plans
Last September, around 15 gravestones were vandalized with blue paint at Evergreen Cemetery in East Austin, the city’s first municipal graveyard for Black residents when it was founded in 1926. Commenting on the event, Mayor Steve Adler tweeted that the attack was “incredibly sad, leaving many with overarching anger and fear. Most acutely felt by […]
Posted inParks
Parks department needs 600 lifeguards by May
In anticipation of the upcoming swim season, Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley submitted a memorandum to City Council on Jan. 22 that contained an update on maintenance and staffing in the city’s aquatics department. The memo states that the Aquatic Division is looking to hire 600 lifeguards for the summer season. In a follow-up […]
Posted inParks
Parks department considers ways to standardize its partnerships
The Parks and Recreation Department is continuing its work creating uniformity and standards in partnerships with nonprofit organizations that are expected to play a larger role in maintaining and improving parks facilities in the coming years. At last week’s Parks and Recreation Board meeting, PARD Director Kim McNeeley discussed the current state of partnerships with groups […]
Posted inParks
Covid impacted Austin parks concessions
Like many other enterprises, concessions operating in Zilker Park and along Lady Bird Lake suffered various financial impacts last year due to Covid-19, according to a report from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. Gross sales generated by Town Lake Park concessions fell about $1.7 million in Fiscal Year 2020, to about $6.7 million compared to about $8.4 […]
Posted inAustin
Citing disrepair, Council removes public artworks from display
Art left out in the elements doesn’t last forever. That’s why City Council just delisted five worn-out pieces of public art, including the Bicentennial Fountain at Vic Mathias Shores; LAB, the series of yellow sculptures along the Lance Armstrong Bikeway; and Moments, the enigmatic work along the Lamar underpass downtown. Though the pieces will no longer […]
Posted inParks
Discussions continue about Hancock Golf Course’s insolvency
Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Anthony Segura and Division Manager for Golf Operations Kevin Gomillion gave an update on the community engagement status of the Hancock Golf Course’s revenue troubles at the Dec. 4 special Parks and Recreation Board meeting. A six-year financial analysis reveals that since 2015, the golf course has lost over $1 […]
Posted inPlanning
New groups tee up, face off in ongoing Hancock golf course discussions
Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department has already faced pandemic-related delays over the past month in its efforts to gather feedback about the future of the 120-year old Hancock Golf Course. Meanwhile, a handful of vocal groups, some just weeks old, have put forward their own opposing plans. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going […]
Posted inParks
Parks board wants bigger say on financial, budget issues
The Parks and Recreation Board is making a move to dive deeper into the financial and budgetary issues that affect the city’s parks department. At the board’s Oct. 27 meeting, Board Member Sarah Faust made a recommendation to modify the board’s bylaws to terminate its Land, Facilities and Programs Committee and replace it with a […]
Posted inParks
Council OKs purchase of Wood Street parkland
After a lengthy discussion about the rules regulating acquisition of city parkland, Council voted 7-2-2 on Thursday to purchase 0.214 acres of downtown property at 702 Wood St. Council members Jimmy Flannigan and Pio Renteria voted no, and Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison and Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza abstained. Renteria complained that the $1,174,250 price […]
Posted inParks
Council postpones $1.1 million acquisition of Wood Street property for new parkland
A small grassy field just off Sixth Street would provide easier access to the Shoal Creek Trail and preserve a historically significant piece of downtown, but City Council members delayed action on the $1.1 million purchase to address concerns that the money might be spent better elsewhere. City Council opted to postpone a vote Oct. […]
Posted inParks
PARD contends with homeless encampments during pandemic with limited resources
With nearly 300 parks and 17,409 acres of property to oversee, Wes Bickham, an environmental coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department, has a lot of ground to cover in his work finding alternative solutions for people experiencing homelessness who are camping on city park grounds. Couple this vast expanse of city greenery with the […]