From Lyndon B. Johnson announcing his first Senate campaign in Wooldridge Square to Booker T. Washington speaking there in 1911, some of Austin’s most historic moments and stories are set to be preserved in the city’s three original public square parks. The program known as Our Austin Story is a partnership between the Austin Parks […]
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The city department responsible for the city’s park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Posted inAustin
Decision on unmarked graves, chapel at Oakwood Cemetery coming in April
Austin officials plan to have an idea next month of how to move forward with construction work on the chapel at Oakwood Cemetery that was halted in November when unrecorded burial sites were discovered under the building. Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, which manages five city cemeteries, is working to learn more about the remains […]
Posted inParks
City moves forward on major park in Onion Creek area
The city is trying to make the best out of a bad situation by turning flood-ravaged land near Onion Creek into one of Austin’s premier open spaces. Earlier this month, City Council approved a resolution to begin the process of rezoning roughly 99 acres of formerly residential property that the city, in partnership with the […]
Posted inCity Hall
Hensley appointed interim assistant city manager
Interim City Manager Elaine Hart has named Parks and Recreation Department Director Sara Hensley interim assistant city manager upon the retirement of Sue Edwards on March 17. Hart announced Hensley’s promotion, as well as rearrangement of some staffing assignments, in a memo to the mayor and City Council. “As Interim City Manager, I reconfirm that […]
Posted inParks
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 […]
Posted inParks
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 […]
Posted inParks
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 […]
Posted inParks
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 […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Austin’s ‘big three’ parks to see fewer events
The number of festivals and large events at Austin’s highest-profile public parks could decrease in the coming years if City Council follows through on recommendations expected from the Parklands Events Task Force. Shifting usage away from the city’s “big three” parks – Zilker Park, Auditorium Shores and Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach in […]
Posted inParks
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 […]
Posted inBudget
Environmental Commission recommends funds for river watchers
The health of Austin’s rivers is carefully monitored on a regular basis by a team of experts. But some of those experts are much younger than many people may realize. Austin Youth River Watch has been training at-risk high school students to check the levels of pollutants in the city’s natural waterways since 1992. The […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s cemeteries get new leader
Tonja Walls-Davis has a new favorite gravesite: one for a child, whose headstone is in the shape of a single Lego. “I’ve traveled these grounds so many times,” she told the Austin Monitor. “But, like I said, every time I come, I see something new. Their life a lot of times is represented on their […]