An aerial view of the Treviño parkland’s northern entrance from FM 969. Image: Bing Maps
The forgotten 330 acres of parkland in Far East Austin near the intersection of FM 969 and Decker Lane is finally getting its due, as the city’s master planning process for John Treviño Metropolitan Park hits the concept stage. We’re just happy this enormous tract won’t remain padlocked forever — any upgrades for additional recreation at such a naturally picturesque location are just icing.
A current view of the (locked) front gate of the park from FM 969.
At a community engagement meeting late last month, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department showed off early programming concepts for the park’s upcoming master plan, and we’ve got an opportunity to provide feedback on these ideas until the end of the month, so go knock it out after you’ve finished this article. Based on input from viewers like you, we should get a finalized master plan document from the city and landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol by early 2020.
Click for a larger view. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
At this early stage, the plan breaks the park down into two major areas — the northern “Prairie” region closer to the entrance, and the southern “River” area closer to, well, the river — then gives us different combinations of improvements for each area, resulting in four distinct configurations.
The four design configurations for the park’s master plan. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
The programming options for the northern Prairie region are labeled Concept A and Concept B, with options for the southern River area labeled Concept C and Concept D — and we’re invited to choose our preferences between a combination of A and C, A and D, B and C, or B and D. (It’s really not that complicated if you look at the boards.)
Let’s run each concept down real quick so we know what we’re looking at — the presentation boards we’re including here do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to explaining their features, which is nice since it means we have to type a little less:
Prairie Area Concept A: “Ranch”
Click for a larger view. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
This configuration spreads out its amenities in the northern section of the park, its features seemingly attempting a lighter touch on the natural environment with trails, large open fields, and an event pavilion.
Prairie Area Concept B: “Town”
Click for a larger view. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
The “Town” configuration consolidates many of its features into a central “activity center”, with an event space, community farming area, playgrounds, and even a “dance hall pavilion.”
River Area Concept C: “Forest Fields”
Click for a larger view. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
Down south closer to the river, the “Forest Fields” concept is described as a “varied forested patchwork,” with lots of tree cover for features like trails, an outdoor classroom, and a boat launch and fishing pier installed on the river itself.
River Area Concept D: “Clearing”
Click for a larger view. Image: Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
The “Clearing” concept creates a large central open field in this area with many programming possibilities, and allows for vehicular access to the river. The most interesting feature of this configuration is its bird-watching tower near the river.
A photo of the park’s current conditions — looks pretty good, it’s just hard to get there. Image: City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
All of these concepts are clearly pretty early versions of themselves, with a lot of similarities between each one in terms of its possibilities — the unifying factor here is that the improvements seek to amenities this enormous natural resource without losing sight of the actual nature, instead creating more opportunities for people to simply reach that nature with the help of the aforementioned trails, community farming, river access, and bird-watching.
An aerial view of the Colorado River at the southern end of the Treviño parkland. Image: Bing Maps
A ground-level photo of the section of the Colorado River at the southern tip of the parkland, with a small map showing its location on the tract. Image: City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department / GGN
That’s good news no matter which combination you prefer, though we’d be lying if we didn’t tell you our our preference is for concepts B and D. Not that we’d tell you how to vote, of course — we just hope you participate, since you have until September 20 to provide feedback. The legacy of the late Treviño Jr. himself depends on it!
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