Image: GGNĪlthough future additions described in the vision plan could include educational facilities, a community vegetable farm, an event pavilion, enhanced river access at the southern end of the site, and a million other nice-to-haves, these more modest first phase improvements like trails are already funded by the city’s 2018 parks bond - meaning we can actually get them done relatively soon, with the city currently planning to begin construction in 2025. The process will also include a safe vehicle entry access, parking area, trailhead with seating and maps, drinking fountain, shade structure, nature trails, a decomposed granite loop trail, and a nature play area.Ī birds-eye sketch of the park master plan. Improvements will include the removal of ranch equipment, barbed wire, dilapidated and unsafe structures, and the securing or reinforcing of any existing structures to remain. Park improvements will begin by focusing on preparing the property for the first phase of implementing the Vision Plan. Since part of the site was fairly recently a working ranch, that involves removing barbed wire: Long Park, this first phase doesn’t wade into the pricier elements of the vision plan, instead focusing on simply getting the parkland safe for visitors. Like the upgrades recently announced for the nearby Walter E. Three years later, we’re finally seeing movement on bringing Austinites inside one of the city’s largest parkland holdings, with the Parks and Recreation Department announcing earlier this month that it has started preliminary design for the first phase of improvements to the park that will, at long last, enable public access. Photo by James Rambin.īut the emergence of a sweeping vision plan for the future of the Treviño parkland, designed by Seattle-based landscape architecture firm GGN and adopted by City Council in 2020, gave us all some hope that the space would open to the public soon. The sense of motion from the long exposure of the passing car, the dusky color palette, the inherent humor of the little “future home of” sign above the main sign - some of my best work, really. We’ll be following all the twists and turns, but until then, just knowing this future park exists is a good start - you’d be surprised how many people don’t.I can see why everyone likes this photo. We’re not saying it’s a done deal, but the odds seem pretty good!Įither way, the real test will arrive on August 24, when the parks department holds its third engagement meeting and presents more specific concepts for this land’s possible future. This sort of operation lines up uncannily well with a recent unanimous recommendation of the Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board, regarding the suitability of agriculture on unused city and county-owned land as a component of local sustainability. It might sound a little quaint, but the community benefits of urban agricultural programs are pretty well-documented. Image: City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGNĬonsidering the size of the Treviño tract, a fairly large agricultural facility could easily share this parkland with the rest of its desired improvements - something like the parks department’s existing urban gardening program on steroids, with plenty of additional space available for educational facilities. Two slides from the parks department’s presentation earlier this week, showing the initial vision and priorities for the future master plan.
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