Austin is on pace to hire a sufficient number of lifeguards to open all of its pools and splash pads this upcoming summer – aided by the city’s minimum wage increase to $20 an hour and dedicated outreach from its Aquatic Division. The Parks and Recreation Board was provided with an update on the hiring […]
City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department
The city department responsible for the city’s park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Posted inParks
Austin misses goal of having direction signs on all urban trails
Austin failed to install directional signs, also known as wayfinding, on all urban trails by 2022, a specific target outlined in the city’s far-reaching transportation strategy. The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan was adopted unanimously by the City Council in 2019. The ASMP – two years in the making, involving the input of thousands of Austinites – is supposed to […]
Posted inParks
Notley/Monitor Poll: Austinites can’t agree on greatest park challenges or solutions
Austin residents regularly use city parks but are divided over how they should be maintained, according to a January/February poll of 429 voters commissioned by Notley and conducted by national pollster Change Research for the Austin Monitor. The poll comes as Austin leaders continue to focus on parks and open space and projects like the […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown Commission votes to form graffiti working group
At the most recent Downtown Commission meeting on Jan. 18, members agreed to form a working group to address what Chair August Harris deemed a “rapid increase in graffiti around our community.” During a sprawling discussion of the topic, commissioners debated the negative effects of graffiti, the actors and reasons behind why it exists, and […]
Posted inParks
PARD tries again to approve long-awaited cemetery rules update
For nearly a decade, the city has worked to overhaul the nearly half-century-old rules governing grave ornamentation and maintenance of Austin’s five municipal cemeteries, which are under the stewardship of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. PARD says the new rules are needed because the cemeteries are in a state of disrepair. Employees have been hurt and […]
Posted inPlanning
Culture, climate district gets mixed reviews from feedback sessions
An effort to create a new “living room” in the center of Austin along Lady Bird Lake needs some fine-tuning and a more precise mission, according to early community feedback gathered by an outside consulting firm. A memo delivered on Dec. 30 by Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley includes the latest work done […]
Posted inParks
Three finalists make a splash as they vie for position of Aquatic Division manager
Last Thursday, the Parks and Recreation Department held a public meeting to introduce the three remaining candidates in the running to become Austin’s next Aquatic Division manager, who the department expects to name in early January. The Aquatic Division manager is responsible for staffing and recruitment, public pool operations, instructional swim programming, aquatics maintenance and […]
Posted inCity Council
Council backs senior center plan for Nash Hernandez building
The city will move forward with plans to convert the long-idle Nash Hernandez building in East Austin into a senior activity center that could also offer programs for area schoolchildren. Last week, City Council approved on its consent agenda an item brought by Council Member Pio Renteria directing the city manager to move forward with […]
Posted inParks
Zilker Park plan brings worries over parking, ecology, athletic fields
Concerns about athletic fields, ecological impacts, and plans for major accessibility and transportation infrastructure were among the issues discussed during a recent feedback session with planners working on the future of Zilker Park. Last month the city unveiled its draft vision plan for the 351-acre park, with stated goals including improving and rehabilitating areas of […]
Posted inCity Council
Council members irked at low appraisal of parkland for Oracle expansion
City Council members pushed back against some of the steps taken by staff over the past year to work out a complex swap of city parkland approved by voters last year. During Tuesday’s work session, Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter used discussion of Item 60 on today’s agenda to question the appraisal process used to […]
Posted inParks
Council hears push for offices, senior space at Nash Hernandez building
City Council could help decide the future of the Nash Hernandez building in East Austin in the coming months, as debate continues over whether to convert the long-idle building into office space or a senior center. At Thursday’s meeting, Lori Cervenak-Renteria, a community activist and wife of Council Member Pio Renteria, spoke about the conflicting […]
Posted inPlanning
PARD pushes to use Nash Hernandez building for offices instead of senior services
The Parks and Recreation Department is pushing back against a City Council recommendation and wants to convert an idle East Austin property into office space instead of a facility for seniors and children. In a memo released last week, PARD Director Kimberly McNeeley wrote that a recent feasibility study of the Nash Hernandez building found […]