Draft DOWNTOWN PARKS AND OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN Downtown Austin Plan Prepared for the City of Austin by ROMA Austin and HR&A Advisors Revised January 19, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose of Plan ...............................................................................................................................1 Relati onship to Downtown Austi n Plan ..........................................................................................1 Vision Statement .............................................................................................................................1 Challenges to Address .....................................................................................................................2 Summary of Master Plan Recommendati ons .................................................................................2 General Policy Prioriti es ............................................................................................................2 Fees and Assessments ...............................................................................................................3 Governance and Management ..................................................................................................4 Priority Projects .........................................................................................................................5 Funding Prioriti es ............................................................................................................................5 II. INTRODUCTION A. What is the purpose of this master plan? ..................................................................................7 B. How does the master plan relate to the Downtown Austi n Plan? .............................................8 C. Why are downtown parks and open spaces important? ...........................................................8 D. What is the vision for downtown parks and open space? .......................................................10 E. What are the challenges in achieving this vision? ....................................................................10 F. What are the guiding principles to achieving great public spaces? ..........................................12 III. CURRENT CONDITIONS A. What does the downtown parks and open space system include? .........................................23 B. Is there enough parkland, and is it in the right place? .............................................................27 C. What acti viti es are in downtown parks, and what is missing? ................................................29 D. What about the design of downtown parks and open spaces? ...............................................31 E. How are parks currently managed and operated, and what is spent on their development, operati ons and maintenance? ......................................................................................................33 IV. PARK PROGRAMMING AND MASTER PLAN CONCEPTS A. Greenways 1. Lady Bird Lake .....................................................................................................................37 2. Shoal Creek .........................................................................................................................44 3. Waller Creek .......................................................................................................................49 B. Citywide Parks 1. Palm Park ............................................................................................................................55 2. Waterloo Park .....................................................................................................................61 3. House Park ..........................................................................................................................67 C. The Historic Squares 1. Brush Square .......................................................................................................................70 2. Wooldridge Square .............................................................................................................78 3. Republic Square ..................................................................................................................85 PARKS AND OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN i D. Downtown Neighborhood Parks 1. Duncan Park ........................................................................................................................90 E. Park Furnishings and Signage ...................................................................................................96 V. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY A. Overview ..................................................................................................................................99 B. Implementi ng World Class Parks ............................................................................................101 C. Priority Projects ......................................................................................................................105 D. Overall Funding Needs ...........................................................................................................106 E. Strategies for Enhancing Public Funding ................................................................................108 F. Roles for Special Purpose Enti ti es ...........................................................................................112 G. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................115 FIGURES Parks, Open Space and Principal Connecti ng Streets ....................................................................24 Areas Greater than 800 Feet from a Downtown Park or Open Space ...........................................28 Lady Bird Lake Improvement Concept ..........................................................................................40 Shoal Creek Trail Improvement Concept .......................................................................................46 Waller Creek Concept Plan Analysis ..............................................................................................52 Palm Park Existi ng Conditi ons .......................................................................................................57 Palm Park Improvement Concept .................................................................................................59 Waterloo Park Miti gati on Plan ......................................................................................................63 Waterloo Park Improvement Concept ..........................................................................................65 House Park Skate Park and Austi n Recreati on Center Exisitng Conditi ons ....................................68 Brush Square Existi ng Conditi ons ..................................................................................................73 Brush Square Long Term Improvement Concept ..........................................................................76 Brush Square Near Term Improvement Concept ..........................................................................77 Wooldridge Square Existi ng Conditi ons ........................................................................................80 Wooldridge Square Improvement Concept ...................................................................................83 Republic Square Existi ng Conditi ons .............................................................................................86 Republic Square Improvement Concept .......................................................................................88 Duncan Park Existi ng Conditi ons ..................................................................................................91 Duncan Park Improvement Concept .............................................................................................94 APPENDIX A Inventory of Downtown Parks and Open Spaces Desired Acti viti es and Ameniti es Per Downtown Park ii DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PURPOSE OF THE PLAN The purpose of the Parks and Open Space Master Plan is to arti culate a community-supported vision for Austi n’s downtown parks and open space system that will guide public and private investment and management of individual parks and the system as a whole. The Master Plan: • Sets aspirati ons and arti culates community goals. • Develops a general vision for each downtown public park, appropriate to its specifi c locati on and functi on within the open space system. • Creates an implementati on strategy that establishes prioriti es and budgets. • Recommends governance, funding and management mechanisms to support public parks. • Promotes advocacy and leadership for downtown parks. RELATIONSHIP TO DOWNTOWN AUSTIN PLAN The Parks and Open Space Master Plan is an integral part of the Downtown Austi n Plan (DAP) and will inform the policy recommendati ons of the overall Plan, which will be fi nalized by Summer 2010. The Parks and Open Space Master Plan is also being informed by a broader view of downtown goals, including the need to bolster Downtown’s competi ti ve positi on in the region, to support compact and livable high- density development, to transform street rights-of-way into multi -modal corridors that extend the open space system and to make Downtown a place where everyone is welcome. The full Parks and Open Space Master