Austin seeking input on future of 'loved to death' Zilker Metropolitan Park

“I think the overall state of the park is that it’s probably loved to death. It’s extremely popular, and so it’s experiencing high visitation numbers right now, and I think that, that is really impacting the park," Montes said.

The city has already identified some clear needs at Zilker, such as restoration of damaged portions of the property and the expansion of parking and other mobility components. With those in mind however, Montes also said Austin and consultants with Design Workshop—contracted at up to $600,000 to facilitate the plan—need ongoing public consideration of the park's future to reflect the diverse desires of its users.

For now, the city is moving ahead with more public engagement opportunities to gather as much feedback as possible for the crafting of the first comprehensive plan in the 350-acre park's century-plus history. Project leaders are planning to visit each City Council district throughout July to speak in person with residents about the vision plan as well, and more community meetings and pop-ups are planned through the remainder of 2021.

Montes said a finalized plan is expected to begin moving toward a green light from council next spring, although the focus on Zilker could stretch the city's approval process out over several months.

“As we continue to get closer and closer and move the ball down the field, and we get closer to the approval process where we go to boards and commissions, sometimes our plans start to stall out because of concerns that people are bringing," Montes said. "With this much attention and visitation and as much of the status that it carries throughout the city, I would imagine that once we start getting closer to that point of approval process, we’re probably going to experience some of that. But the hope is that we’ll work through those with the boards and commissions ... early next year."

More information on the vision plan, project materials and public meeting details are available through the city of Austin webpage. Anyone interested in sharing their experiences at Zilker may also contribute thoughts through the plan's SpeakUp Austin engagement page.