For years, the back end of the swath of parkland used for the Austin City Limits Festival, the Trail of Lights and the Kite Festival has been repurposed as a sometimes staging area and sometimes parking lot. However, until now, it was never intended to become a full-fledged parking lot that could accommodate cars and […]
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The city department responsible for the city’s park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Posted inAustin
Austin sings the cemetery fund blues
The Parks and Recreation Department, which is in charge of operations and management of the city’s five historic cemeteries, has suspended collection of money for the cemeteries’ perpetual care fund until the department can resolve some of the issues related to taking care of the cemeteries. The purpose of the perpetual care fund is to […]
Posted inEnvironment
What’s the story behind the different tags on trees around Austin?
You can’t not notice the trees that line the paths on Austin’s many hike and bike trails. But have you ever noticed a fair amount of them are numbered? They’re on small metal tags nailed to the trunks. Writer Will Neely noticed them while he was running along the Butler Hike and Bike Trail, so […]
Posted inParks
Will PARD ever get enough money to implement recycling in the parks?
In every Austin home, there is the option to trash your waste or recycle it (many even have a composting option available). So why aren’t Austinites given the same opportunity at the city of Austin’s parks and recreational facilities? At the April 11 meeting of the Zero Waste Advisory Commission, Liana Kallivoka, the assistant director […]
Posted inParks
Artist Access Program development remains paused
Recently the city paused a program for artist venue space in response to complaints about how it would balance the residential groups’ cultural identities and the programming that would take place in the individual cultural centers. Since 2011, the city has sponsored an artist-in-residence program. Originally the Latino Arts Residency Program, the initiative was eventually […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Meet me at the cemetery gates (tough guy)
More like Smashbel… A downtown Austin implosion occurs almost as infrequently as a freelance writer wakes up before Helios puts the sun in Sunday. But yesterday saw the stars align and gifted us with the rare spectacle of early morning crowds watching Sunday morning coming down. Despite a few surly construction yobs trying to muscle […]
Posted inCourts
Party boat owner wins injunction against city
Watertight Endeavors Inc., the owner of three party boats used for weddings, family reunions, high school graduations and similar occasions, has won its first court battle against the city to keep using the Walsh Landing public dock for loading and unloading passengers on Lake Austin. District Judge Karin Crump granted the temporary injunction on Tuesday, […]
Posted inCity Hall
City pauses arts program amid protests, possible MACC opt-out
The city has paused a program intended to create much-needed venue space for local arts groups amid controversy and concern over how it would mesh with cultural groups that operate out of city cultural centers. Laura Esparza, manager of museums and cultural programs for the Parks and Recreation Department, informed the Arts Commission on Monday […]
Posted inAustin
Board, public debate may slow approval of MACC master plan
City and community leaders hope to move forward with a spring approval of a new master plan for the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center despite a frequently contentious meeting of the center’s advisory board last week marked by debate over the public input process used to develop the plan. Wednesday’s meeting saw members […]
Posted inParks
Council approves pools plan but funding questions remain
On Thursday, City Council overwhelmingly approved the Aquatic Master Plan, a 640-page document crafted by the Parks and Recreation Department that provides guidance for repairing and expanding the city’s aging system of pools. The plan says that the capital costs necessary to improve the system range from $152 million to $193 million, “depending on how […]
Posted inParks
Parkland Events Task Force recommendations need more work
Almost exactly a year ago, the Parks and Recreation Department was tasked with implementing the final recommendations that were adopted by City Council from the 17-member Parkland Events Task Force. Established in 2015, the task force was given the assignment to find a balance between the everyday use of the park system and special events […]
Posted inParks
Nash Hernandez joint-use facility will remain indefinitely unopened
For seven years, East Austin’s Nash Hernandez Building has remained empty as the Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Austin Police Department have worked to create a 9,600-square-foot joint-use facility for Austin’s park rangers and park patrol units. As of last week, it looks like the project is still years away from completion. Board […]