Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | August 2023

GOVERNMENT Citing community divisions, ocials shelve Zilker Park Vision Plan

ZILKER PLAN PAUSED While some parts of the Zilker plan could eventually be realized, the Zilker Vision Plan was killed by city ocials just weeks before it was set to be voted on. Below are some items identied for improvements in the plan: Zone 1: Land Bridge • Restore the polo eld • Realign Stratford Drive • Build an underground parking garage • Build a land bridge • Restore the landll area • Build an additional parking garage • Connect Zilker trailhead to Butler Hike and Bike Trail near welcome center Zone 2: Landll

BY BEN THOMPSON

Weeks before Austin City Council was set to take a nal vote on the controversial Zilker Park Vision Plan, city ocials announced that the proposed framework was eectively dead following more than two years of development and public debate. What’s happening: After three council members released a statement opposing the draft plan Aug. 7, Mayor Kirk Watson said interim City Manager Jesús Garza had ended the planning process. City ocials said contention among Austinites over high-prole elements in the plan led to it being shelved. Going forward, Watson said the city will take a break before circling back to popular items while trying to reach common ground on more disputed aspects. Throughout the planning process, dozens of res- idents have voiced concerns over bringing negative environmental and climate outcomes; the park’s commercialization; park accessibility; respect for the property’s history; public involvement; the nonprot management structure; and more. Others have stated support for the proposal, which aims to address the park’s overuse. The backstory: After determining that the trea- sured city landmark was being “loved to death,” the Austin Parks and Recreation Department kicked o a long-range vision planning process for Zilker Metropolitan Park’s management and improvement in late 2020. Led bythe city and consultants with Design Workshop, the $600,000 planning eort stretched on for more than two years through multiple rounds of community engagement. The details: As developed by community members and consultants, the wide-ranging plan covers many areas of need and improvements for Zilker that would’ve potentially been rolled out over the decades to come. Those dozens of items range from smaller

ZONE 1

ZONE 3

MOPAC

ZONE 4

L U M B U

ZONE 6

• Combine sports elds into sports area Zone 3: Sports Area

SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT

• Improve drainage • Create south side play areas Zone 5: South Side of Barton Springs Pool • Build a parking garage • Remove surface parking lot

Zone 6: Barton Creek • Add controlled Barton Creek water access • Restore Barton Creek Banks • Relocate bridge No. 1 along Barton

Zone 4: Welcome Center • Remove surface parking lot • Enhance existing playground • Build a welcome center

Creek to Toomey Road • Build new bridge near welcome center

landscaping and visitor upgrades to larger-scale undertakings across the park, including the closure of roadways and the development of major new facilities, such as parking garages and an amphithe- ater on the park’s Great Lawn. The plan also called for some local nonprots to become involved in park operations in collabora- tion with the city, a similar arrangement to those Austin has in place for resources such as the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail and some other civic parks. The plandidn’t lock in timelines or funding for

any of its proposals, all of which would’ve likely gone through environmental reviews, budgetary consideration and further community deliberations before moving forward. What they’re saying: “We know that the Zilker Park Vision Plan proposes many improvements that have community consensus, such as additional green space, shade trees, erosion control, and bathrooms. Other elements, however, seem to be ash points of irreconcilable dierences,” Council Members Ryan Alter, Zo Qadri and Paige Ellis wrote in the statement.

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