Zilker Greening Up – Volunteer Workdays Coming Up

I was out at Zilker meeting with Park staff about some proposed volunteer workdays to help them cut out sod, mulch all of the trees and help clean-up areas. Come out and help us on Saturdays in July: July 11, 18 and 25th, from 9 am to noon – Sign Up Here

Here’s a few photos looking west and toward Rock Island.  Watch for announcements and sign-ups for the July workdays – we’ll need several hundred people who can help out which will hopefully allow the parks dept to open the Zilker Great Lawn (the new name!) earlier than the end of August. Look for announcements of the volunteer workdays with sign-ups next week.

Republic Square Phase 1b beginning soon

About 2 weeks from now, the Austin Parks Foundation will begin Phase 1b of the Auction Oaks @ Republic Square project.  The first phase will be the removal of the berm along fourth St, the partial reconstruction of the sidewalk and ADA ramp on Fourth St to San Antonio St, and the installation of irrigation and grass sod on the former berm site.  Work is expected to take two weeks.

deck/stage design

We have also put out bids for the construction of the new deck/stage around the central auction oak. We’ll be installing a 4,000 square foot deck that is designed to protect the tree and allow folks underneath it.  An image of the deck is included in this post.  Only 11 hand-dug footings will be installed and they can be moved if roots are discovered.  The deck will be sided with stone matching the bollards protecting the tree area already in place and will have IPE wood as the deck surface.  The custom tree grate will be nine feet across!  We’ll be posting updates here regularly.  This phase is funded by grants from the Austin City Limits Music Festival, the Downtown Austin Alliance and the National Conference of  Woodmen of the World.

Between the Bridges Project Nearing Completion

The Trail Foundation’s Between the Bridges Project, on the edge of Butler Park just east of Lamar Blvd and the Pfulger Bridge, is nearing completion.  I was in the area the other day and took this fuzzy photo with my phone.  It’s looking great with some really nice stone walls, improved drainage, newly planted trees, irrigation and (I’m sure) more landscaping to come.  The project cost $100,000 and the Austin Parks Foundation contributed $20,000 through our park grants program, with the rest raised by the Trail Foundation directly.

Zilker is looking green….

The parks department and their contractors have done a great job and the park is greening up!

Coming soon: Phase 1b of Republic Square Improvements

As we move into summer (yeah, I know its 100 for the fourth day in a row) we are gearing up for Phase 1b of improvements to Republic Square in Downtown Austin.  The big items on the list are removal of the southern berm along fourth street and the construction of a very cool deck/stage around the central Auction Oak.  We are working finalizing plans and obtaining final approvals for the parks dept, but we’ll replace the berm with new irrigation and grass and the deck/stage is engineered to protect the big oak tree while allowing folks to enjoy its shade.  Only eleven hand dug posts three feet in width will be holding up the deck and the impact should be minimal.  We’ll be rolling out features of the deck in the next few weeks, but it will be faced with limestone and match the new stone bollards and chain enclosure already in place.

Location of Deck/Stage to be constructed in Phase 1b

6/25: Great Public Spaces Summit

A CNU Central Texas Action Forum in partnership with American Planning Association Central Texas Section
Thursday, June 25 | 9 am to 5 pm | Mexican-American Cultural Center, 600 River Street

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Sunday, June 21
Entire forum + lunch: $40 • Lunchtime session (includes lunch) only: $20
Vegetarian option available.
Visit 
http://tiny.cc/ctapapublicspaces
to register.
Email rachelproctormay@gmail.com with questions.
Click here to download the agenda

AICP CREDITS AVAILABLE! Participants are eligible for up to 7.25 AICP CM credits. Visit the registration area at the event to sign up.

Parks. Paseos. Gardens. Trails. Plazas. Bridges. Streetscapes. Promenades. These are the places that strengthen our identity, nurture our community, and make Austin great. But while the vision of an interconnected network of public spaces is clear, it is just as clear that we have a long way to go in order to fully realize it.

Great Public Spaces is a one-day action session to figure out what’s working, what’s not, and what we need to do in order to more quickly and thoroughly implement this compelling community vision. Architects, designers, city council members, trail-builders, community art promoters, neighborhood association activists, and others will share their expertise on the design and implementation of spaces in which the community can meet, mingle, and share. In addition to the on-stage panels, throughout the day we’ll ask all attendees to use the ideas being discussed to help us shape a policy agenda for future action. Drawing on national best practices and each others’ examples, we will strategize how to support each others’ efforts and together create a built environment that inspires.

Barton Springs Trees – The Next Steps

As you have probably read, the city is planning on only cutting down three trees out of the original 28 planned, with 2 more that need further investigation.  The remaining number will be pruned, soil treated and other improvements, including removal of planters, retaining walls, fencing off some of the treated trees to keep the soil uncompacted.  The city has some funds (a little less than $200,000) to do some of the work, and we – the Austin Parks Foundation – are teaming up with TreeFolks, Friends of Barton Springs Pool, the Hill Country Conversancy and hopefully others – to work with the city to raise funds for more work and bring volunteers to help with work.  We heard yesterday that the Stillwater Foundation has granted us $50,000 for tree work at Barton Springs and in other parks to help older trees with soil improvements, specialized pruning, cabling and more.  We are pleased to have over $152,000 to add to the city’s funds, but we need more donations and we hope that you’ll contribute.  You can donate online or call us at 512.477.1566

Photo from the Austin History Center

6/20: Wooldridge Square Park 100th Anniversary Celebration

Wooldridge Square Park
100th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, June 20, 2009
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
9th and Guadalupe Streets
No RSVP Required

Join the fun of a birthday party
for Wooldridge Square!

family friendly live music
dance performance with a marching band
free cupcakes
giant chess set
food vendor

Be part of a panoramic photo of participants similar to one taken at the dedication ceremony 100 years ago. The photo will be presented as a companion to the Austin History Center’s current exhibit of photos of the park.

Thanks to All National Trails Day Volunteers

Over 300 volunteers came out to work on 13 different projects on the Barton Creek Greebelt.  The Foundation helped out, along with a number of other groups and organizations, but the Hill Country Conservancy organized it and made lunch and t-shirts possible.  We got a lot of work done, but there’s a ton more to do (and a few things to fix, but that’s normal)

Washington DC: Biking the Mount Vernon Trail

I’m (Charlie) in DC for EarthShare National meetings Thu and Fri, and since we have the National Trails Day workday on Barton Creek Greenbelt on Sat and I need to be back in Austin Friday night, I decided to come a day early, take it as a vacation day, rent a bike and ride another one of DC’s great hike and bike trails.  

I’ve done the C&O Canal Trail* up to Potomac Falls a few years ago, so today I rode the 36 mile (plus a few detours around DC to push it over 40 miles) trail.  Pretty cool.  It was built quite a while ago and is very popular, so you really notice the comparatively narrow (by today’s standards) 8 foot width (10 in some areas).   (*- The C&O Trail goes all the way to Pittsburgh, PA now)

It also crosses a number of wetlands or over creeks that flow into the Potomac River, so it has a number of boardwalks like are proposed for the Trail at Lady Bird Lake, but in this case made of wood – many of have been replaced very recently.  

The pictures taken with my crackberry’s camera don’t do the beauty of the area justice, but it will give you an idea. The Path goes along the Potomac River, around Washington National Airport (which is pretty cool), through Alexandria (a little confusing, multiple ways to go and you are on city streets, but sign posting is a bit “refined” and then along the George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon.  I wasn’t in a visiting a home and gardens tour mood and have been there before, so I didn’t go in.