DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Janet Martin
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Council District 1 & 2
SUBJECT:
Briefing on Draft Brackenridge Park Master Plan
SUMMARY:
Briefing and update on the Draft Brackenridge Park Master Plan
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In April 2015 City Council approved the development of a master plan for Brackenridge Park through a professional services agreement with Rialto Studio, Inc. The project team includes Rialto Studio, Inc. along with Alamo Architects, Ford Powell & Carson, and Work5hop. The Brackenridge Park Conservancy has also assisted the project team in the master plan process and has been actively engaged in stakeholder outreach and meetings.
In July 2015 the project team and Brackenridge Conservancy held a public workshop at the D.R. Semmes Family YMCA at Tripoint. Main themes from the public meeting included park traffic, park accessibility, and parking. Subsequent to the public meeting individual stakeholder meetings were conducted through November 2015. Through feedback from the public workshop and park stakeholder meetings the draft master plan was developed and presented to the Parks and Recreation Department on March 2, 2016.
The draft master plan identifies primary park issues such as segmented functionality and flow; the dominance of impervious cover; lack of parking; constricted roadway access; invasive species; river quality; neighborhood pedestrian connectivity; limited free public space; and costly park maintenance activities. To address these challenges the master plan project team identified five (5) goals: 1) clarification of the park perimeter; 2) enlarging the park; 3) strengthening pedestrian park flow along the river; 4) balancing the park use portfolio; and 5) establishing park community support.
The project team will hold meetings this spring to present outcomes and recommendations of the Draft Brackenridge Park Master Plan to the public and stakeholder groups, prior to finalizing the document this summer.
ISSUE:
City Council approved the development of a master plan for Brackenridge Park through a professional services agreement with Rialto Studio, Inc. Through a public process the master plan project team has developed a draft master plan based on current land use planning and design guidelines. Rialto Studio, Inc. will present the master plan document to the public this spring prior to finalization in the summer.
ALTERNATIVES:
This is a briefing for informational purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this briefing.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a briefing for informational purposes only.