According to city documents, the park, located at the corner of Payton Gin Road and North Lamar Boulevard, will be renamed to Heron Hollow Pocket Park.
As part of the process to rename the park, the city has opened a survey to collect public input on the selected new name. The survey is available in both English and Spanish.
The park space—just under 1 acre in total size—was acquired by the city in 1965, according to city staff. Early city documents referred to the land as Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt until 1987, when the parkland was first shown as Payton Gin Pocket Park in the department’s land inventory.
In 2000, Austin City Council voted to adopt the North Austin Civic Association Neighborhood Plan, which included provisions to create a park on the green space at the Payton Gin and North Lamar intersection.
According to the department, a community survey was conducted in the early 2000s to collect input on naming the park. At that time, the name Heron Hollow Pocket Park was selected, but the department never formally memorialized or adopted the name.
This new renaming initiative from the city comes after the the NACA voted in late May 2021 to reaffirm its preference for the Heron Hollow moniker, according to city documents. The NACA further requested the city officially rename the park.
The renaming survey is open for public input through June 16. Members of the community can access the survey through the Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s website here.
After the survey is closed and city staff collect all responses from the community, the Austin Parks and Recreation Board will write a naming recommendation to Austin City Council and the city manager, according to the department website. The naming recommendation will then be placed on City Council’s agenda for official adoption.
