The bitter reminder of decades of pollution that the Holly Street Power Plant presents to the residents of the Holly neighborhood will soon disappear. As of the Parks and Recreation Board meeting on Sept. 26, the plant is in its final phase of decommissioning before the land will be transferred from Austin Energy into the […]
Parks and Recreation Board
The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
Posted inParks
Aquatic Master Plan Task Force moves forward
It’s no secret that Austin city pools are on life support. Last month, City Council put off a vote on the dense and troubling Aquatic Master Plan. Instead, Council members created a task force to take a closer look at a plan that was nearly four years in the making. The task force will be […]
Posted inParks
Whose job it is to provide recycling in Austin parks?
Austin’s Universal Recycling Ordinance mandates that by Oct. 1, all commercial properties in Austin will be required to provide recycling. However, open spaces, including public parks, are not included in the current ordinance, which leaves the Parks and Recreation Department wondering how it will provide recycling to the 20,000 acres that it manages. For Fiscal […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Proposed bond includes big money for parks
The Austin parks system is looking to win big from a major bond that voters will likely be asked to approve in 2018. A citizen task force is currently in the process of drafting a general obligation bond to fund affordable housing projects, stormwater infrastructure, libraries and a variety of other upgrades to municipal facilities. […]
Posted inParks
Austin pools face major problems
Austin pools are in big trouble. In a presentation to the Parks and Recreation Board Tuesday night, Acting Department Director Kimberly McNeeley described a system of aging pools that are on life-support due to a lack of investment in maintenance and upgrades. Commercial pools have a typical lifespan of 25 to 30 years, said McNeeley, […]
Posted inParks
New proposal connects residents to transit corridors via parklands
Austin residents are calling for a more compact and connected city. Thanks to a proposed strategy to reimagine the use of parklands around the city, Sustainable Neighborhoods might have the solution residents are seeking. Steve Zettner of Sustainable Neighborhoods presented the organization’s suggestions to the Parks and Recreation Board at its June 27 meeting. He […]
Posted inParks
Could pocket parks be the new norm?
Grappling with a number of park-deficient areas around the city, various Austin neighborhoods are struggling to find places that could serve as parkland nearby residents can enjoy. This week, members of the Parks and Recreation Board agreed on a possible solution: pocket parks, an open space of land measuring one-acre or less. Board Member Rick […]
Posted inParks
Parks board embraces plans for Republic Square
Ten years after Austin first announced its vision for the remodeling of Republic Square, the space is finally set to make its debut in the heart of downtown Austin this fall. Mandi Thomas, the partnership and development director of the Downtown Austin Alliance, presented the park’s 2017 Management Plan to the Parks and Recreation Board […]
Posted inLand Development Code
What does CodeNEXT mean for Austin parks?
Parks advocates hope that the ongoing effort to overhaul the city’s land development code will make it easier to develop parks of all kinds throughout Austin. On Tuesday night, the Parks and Recreation Board voted to recommend three changes to the current draft of CodeNEXT, which City Council is currently in the process of reviewing. […]
Posted inParks
Parks compliance with ADA to take 10 years
Nearly a year after the city’s established compliance deadline for the new American with Disabilities Act requirements, the Parks and Recreation Board heard a presentation on the city’s ADA transition plan during its Dec. 6 meeting. Jesus Lardizabal from Altura Solutions, the consulting firm working on the project, outlined a 10-year plan that would bring […]
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 inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: That’s not a dog. THIS is a dog.
Waterfall of Chihuahuas… If Robert “Crocodile” Corbin’s multiple accounts of abuse by dogs and “arrogant dog owners” are to be taken at face value, it’s no wonder he regularly pleads with city leaders to scrap Austin’s “no-kill” policy. Before urging members of the City Council Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee to evict Austin Pets […]