Mayor Kirk Watson has weighed in on the Zilker Vision Plan, and he's not particularly pleased with it.
The plan for the 350-acre public park on the southern shore of the Colorado River across from downtown — and which includes Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Botanical Gardens, and the Great Lawn aka home of the Austin City Limits Festival — includes the construction of three new parking garages, a welcome center, new pedestrian and bike bridges, a bridge over Barton Springs Road. It also includes removing surface parking, reclaiming 90 acres green space, controlling access to the Barton Creek spillway, and moving the Zilker Hillside Theater to a new venue with a 5,000-person capacity on the Great Lawn.
The mayor wrote in his "Watson Wire" newsletter Tuesday that he opposes plans for the park that would include a building new 5,000-seat amphitheater on the Great Lawn. “We’ve proven you don’t need such a thing to have amazing shows there. And we just opened a pretty cool amphitheater in downtown at Waterloo Park," Watson writes. Watson also opposes building parking garages in the park.
While he supports some elements of the plan (such as the "rewilding" and rehabilitation of natural areas), Watson also notes that implementing the plan "would be very expensive at a time when Austin has several parks all over town that need significant improvements. Serious consideration needs to be given to the equity of paying for this proposal before making changes and improvements elsewhere.”
The mayor also argues that Zilker Park can be restored and adapted to the needs of Austin's growth without squandering its value: "In a city growing and changing as fast as Austin, it’s okay for some places — especially places that are foundational — to maintain some original qualities and remain open space that’s more organic and basic."
Austin City Council is scheduled to hear public input on the plan at its August 31 meeting.
