Zilker Great Lawn is open

After a press event for the Zilker Medians Project – the rejunvenated and replanted center medians of Barton Springs Road from S. Lamar Blvd to Barton Creek, I went over and checked out the reopened Great Lawn.

No, its not as green as it was, but despite the cooler weather, it is greening up nicely.  There are a few muddy areas where the water drains and collects and those (about 1 acre total) will be resodded in the spring. (Please stay out of the muddier areas – as we say in mountain biking  - just say no to mud.)

The “higher elevations” of the Great Lawn seem be recovering quicker than the lower lying areas.  The parks dept aerated the much of the site as well.

 

Lower Area, facing east

 

 

Waiting On A Sunny Day…

The sun beginning to break out of the clouds again in downtown Austin as the cool front pushes the storms east. But despite the fact that this continues to postpone work at Republic Square, Barton Creek is amazing with a lot of water flowing downstream, temporarily closing Barton Springs Pool as they continue the big clean-up.  In other news, the Parks Department is re-opening the Zilker Great Lawn tomorrow (Friday, Oct 30th)  You’ll still see some standing water and some areas that need work, but despite the cool weather, the grass is greening up.  They are estimating that they’ll have to replace an acre of grass.

 

stone waiting to be set on the sides of the concrete deck beams

Here’s a few shots of our Auction Oaks @ Republic Square project.  Hopefully, things will dry up enough so our contractors can return tomorrow and Saturday.

 

All of the rain is making our new grass very green!

 

 

Hike along West Bouldin Greenbelt

Out for a look at upcoming work with the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Assoication Parks committee, a few photos of the trail and the abundant wildflowers now in bloom.  A beautiful day today!

Trail along West Bouldin Creek

Back to Work at Republic Square

Root Rx with Airspading and compost nearly complete. Mulch is next.

The central auction oak got a fresh Root Rx treatment (fluffing soil, injecting compost and nutrients, fresh application of mulch) and Cleanscapes is beginning to lay the limestone caps atop the new rock piers.  After a few days of rain, its great to able to continue the project.

Limestone pieces waiting to be set.

Mary Moore Searight Trail – Forestry Mower Video

Rosie and Claire from the Austin Parks Foundation visit Carl Brockman of Natural Texas, using his foresty mower to cut a trail through dense cedar (ashe juniper) trees at Mary Moore Searight Park.  The mower cuts and grinds up the trees into mulch on site, greatly reducing the time it would take to cut, drag, chip and distrbute the wood chips.  It also has great weight displacement, with a light footprint on the soil.  Watch our “rough cut” 1 minute video:

Waller Creek District Master Plan Town Hall Meeting

Draft of Open Space and Parks Plan

The Waller Creek District Master Plan Town Hall Meeting is being held this Saturday from 9 am to noon at the Austin Convention.  Come see a presentation by the City and the Waller Creek Master Plan Consultants, the ROMA Design Group.  There will be ample opportunities for questions and discussion.

Details:

Saturday, October 24, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Austin Convention Center, Ballroom C
500 East Cesar Chavez Street

New Trail at Mary Moore Searight

Forestry Mower in Action

A new loop trail (with off-leash priviledges) on the north side of Mary Moore Searight Park is going in.  The first step is to clear a path through tons of cedar (Ashe Juniper) trees  Through an Austin Parks Foundation grant, the friends of Mary Moore Searight Off-Leash area, Carl Brockman of Natural Texas is using his forestry mower to cut through the determined path.

We’ve used Carl’s services on a number of projects and the forestry mower cuts into and grinds up the trees into mulch on the spot, saving us the separate tasks of cutting, dragging, chipping and then spreading the wood chips. Carl is a certified Arborist and is really good at picking out the trees to trim vs. remove.  He’s helped us with efforts at Pease Park and along Shoal Creek, at Country Club Creek Trail and a few other locations.  A few photos from Claire Sorenson, our volunteer leader of this effort, are posted here.

South Walnut Creek Trail – Public Input Meetings

Two public meetings for the South Walnut Creek Trail, currently under design.

So. Walnut Creek Trail – Public Input Meeting: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 6:30 PM
Please join City Staff and Trail Consultants for a very important meeting regarding the development of the South Walnut Creek Trail. Tue, Oct 27 at Eastside Memorial High School Cafeteria, 1012 Arthur Stiles Road, Austin TX 78721

So. Walnut Creek Trail – Public Input Meeting: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 6:30 PM
Please join City Staff and Trail Consultants for a very important meeting regarding the development of the South Walnut Creek Trail. Wed, Oct 28 at One Texas Center, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 505 Barton Springs Rd, Austin TX 78704

Here’s some additional information about the Walnut Creek Trail project:

Description: Walnut Creek Trail will ultimately be a 16-mile concrete trail from Balcones District Park in NW Austin to Govalle Park in East Austin.

1) North Walnut Trail Phase 1 is 3.2 miles of trail from Balcones District Park to Walnut Creek Metro Park with a total cost of $3.3M. TXDOT Review of the completed plans is underway, city bids are expected soon.

2) North Walnut Trail Phase 2 is 1.7 miles of trail from Walnut Creek Metro Park running under Lamar Blvd to the TCEQ and Girl Scout buildings at 1-35. Total cost is $1.9M. Funding was approved by City Council on June 18, 2008 for construction design.

3) South Walnut Trail is 7.2 miles of trail and runs from Govalle Park in SE Austin to the new tennis complex at Walnut Creek Greenbelt/Sports Complex on Johnny Morris Rd just south of US 290. Total cost is $10.1 M. Design Consultants are on board and the first public meetings will be held on Oct 27 and 28 (see events).

The total trail to be constructed is 12.25 mile with these three projects at a total cost of $15,332,102. The trail is a 10 foot wide concrete trail with trailheads in Phase 1 at major intersections and facilities including Balcones District Park, Mopac Access, North Austin Medical Center, Austin Community College and Walnut Creek Metro Park.

Revised Barton Springs Tree Planting Plan

The Forestry Division of the Parks Department has revised the first phase tree planting plan for Barton Springs.  72 Trees, representing 21 different species, plus irrigation will be installed in January 2010.  The Austin Parks Foundation will pay for the cost (approx: $35,000) out of our Barton Springs Tree Fund.  Click here to see the revised tree planting plan.

Zilker Median Billboard Is Up!

Check out the new billboard up thanking all of the donors for the re-irrigated and planted median on Barton Springs Road from Lamar Blvd. to the bridge over Barton Creek.  A team of volunteers from nearby neighborhoods and local garden clubs raised the funds and worked with the city parks department and transportation department for the revitalization!  A press conference at noon on Fri, October 30 with Mayor Leffingwell will be held to formally thank everyone.  The Austin Parks Foundation helped as the fiduciary partner by accepting and holding donations and paying the bills that came in.