Final public meeting for Zilker Park vision plan brings mixed reaction from locals

Austin (KXAN) — Some locals say proposed changes to Zilker Park's master plan like building parking garages and reducing traffic on Barton Springs Road are too radical. They gave feedback like this to designers Saturday morning at the final community meeting on the 50 year plan.

The full draft of the Zilker Park Vision Plan is 200 pages long, but some key projects proposed in it include limiting traffic on Barton Springs Road to one lane in either direction, converting a landfill west of Mopac into woodland, and building a land bridge to connect the north and south sides of the park.

Claire Hempel with Design Workshop is one of the designers working on the park's vision plan. She says considerations into this plan have been in the works for several years.

"We started off looking at goals and guiding principles for the park at the very beginning of this project almost two years ago," Hempel said, "One of the things that we heard that was most challenging about enjoyment of Zilker Park was getting there, and we know that even getting around the park today is very challenging."

Kevin French attended the bustling meeting. He says the changes to Barton Springs Road would make vehicle congestion worse.

"Some of the areas could use some improvement or whatever, but it’s like it’s turning it into a whole new concept. It's like why throw a bottleneck in something that's already congested?" French said.

Hempel stressed that despite this being the final community meeting of the year, the community can give feedback on the Zilker Park Vision Plan through January 8th. Follow this link to the survey website.