Council voted Thursday to instruct the Parks and Recreation Department to move forward with preparing a design for a new site for the Dougherty Arts Center at Butler Shores Park. However, the instructions were not an all-out endorsement of the park site and left open the possibility that Dougherty might end up somewhere else. The […]
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The city department responsible for the city’s park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Posted inParks
With mural saved, East Austin groups seek clarity on public art process
A community gathering Wednesday at Givens Park in East Austin is expected to look at how the city and residents can work together to prevent a repeat of controversy over a mural created to memorialize a recent murder victim. The event, which starts at 6 p.m., was organized last week in the midst of discussions […]
Posted inParks
Golf course owner hopes Council will intervene in Butler Park contract dispute
The owner of Butler Park Pitch & Putt golf course is hoping City Council will reopen the contract process that threatens to end the nearly 70-year family operation. Lee Kinser, owner and president of the small golf course tucked off South Lamar Boulevard, is appealing to the community to bring attention to the city’s decision […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
ACL Fest’s $264M economic impact comes with $5M gift to parks foundation
The 2018 Austin City Limits Festival pumped more than $264 million into the Austin economy, according to data released Monday by festival organizers and the city. That represents an increase of more than $10 million in impact created by the 2017 edition of the festival that runs for two weekends each October in Zilker Park. […]
Posted inParks
Parks and Recreation lacks $2.4 million in funding, potentially faces more cuts
As the question of property tax caps continues to loom in the state Legislature, city departments are wrestling to pare down their budgets in anticipation of what management expects to be a $51.7 million gap in funding for the entire city by 2022 (estimate made per 2.5 percent rollback rate). For the Parks and Recreation […]
Posted inParks
Summer pilot aims to save Zilker from parking overload
The first piece of a long-term effort to systematically rethink Zilker Park’s parking, transportation and environmental needs may come into play this summer with a short-term transportation pilot program aiming to reduce traffic and parking demand in and around the park. Pending action by City Council, the pilot would include a number of suggestions generated […]
Posted inDevelopment
Development fees could help parks department, study shows
The city of Austin could collect approximately $360,000 from development reviews done by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, according to a cost of service study done by the Matrix Consulting Group at the request of City Council. Currently, the department does not charge any fees for development review activities, even though staff members spend […]
Posted inParks
Parks board OKs Givens Park Master Plan
After months of preparation and committee reviews, the Givens District Park Master Plan arrived before the Parks and Recreation Board on Jan. 22 as a consent item, only to be pulled due to members of the public who attended the meeting to ensure that their opinions were heard alongside those of city staff. Larry Thomas, […]
Posted inParks
A new vision for Brush Square Park
City officials believe that Brush Square Park, home of the O. Henry Museum, the Susanna Dickinson Museum and Austin Fire Station 1, has the potential to be a downtown gem. As it stands, however, it is an inefficiently used piece of prime downtown property that attracts crime. Beyond people walking their dogs through the park, […]
Posted inParks
Even with new funding, parks board says city has a long way to go to repair pools
The year 1996 was the gold standard for Austin’s city Aquatics Division, according to Richard DePalma, a member of the Parks and Recreation Board. Since then, “We’ve just continued to shrink.” At the Dec. 4 meeting of the board, DePalma noted that the Parks and Recreation Department continually lists 40 pools on the books, but […]
Posted inParks
City cemeteries will soon see the light with new bond funding and event space
The city of Austin has operated cemeteries since 1839; however, it was only in 2013 that the Parks and Recreation Department assumed responsibility for cemetery operations, at which point the department made a few changes. Despite funding challenges allowing for only 50 percent of the staff that the city originally allocated for cemeteries, the Parks […]
Posted inAustin
People living on the streets can now clean up Austin’s parks for an hourly wage
People experiencing homelessness can now work for the city of Austin. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department, along with Austin Public Health, The Other Ones Foundation and City Council Member Ellen Troxclair, highlighted the pilot program Monday in South Austin. Joe Pacheco, 51, who’s been living on the streets, is currently working for the program. […]