Questions in Survey Comments

A number of people posed questions within the survey comments. We have attempted to answer these questions below. When there were multiple, similar questions, we included only one representative question.

I'd like to see an an area for off-leash dogs. Can the upper basin be used for such a spot? People will use the park as an off leash area, as they currently do. It would be great if they had a designated spot instead of letting their dogs run all over. I don't think the larger park/lower basin should be used. Maybe use the park space in a spot across W 30th St?

The City of Austin does not typically add off-leash areas in existing parks due to their controversial nature. Generally, staff finds that about 50 percent of people are in favor and 50 percent opposed. However, if we were to add an off-leash area, probably the best place would be across W. 30th .St. as you suggest. This could be pursued at a later date with the Parks and Recreation Department.

It’s not feasible to use the upper basin for such a purpose for reasons of access, ADA-compliance, usability and water quality. As currently conceived, the upper basin does not have public access, and it is not feasible to provide public access. This is because there is not enough space to make the maintenance access compliant with ADA requirements. In addition, this basin will serve as a sediment forebay, meaning it will catch excess sediment and debris so they don’t enter the lower basin. This helps make the lower basin easier to maintain and use, but means the upper basin would not really be suitable for public use. In addition, we generally prefer not to have off-leash areas in basins that are serving water quality purposes.

Will the drinking fountains have a lower drinking fountain for dogs?

Yes, the City of Austin’s standard drinking fountains include a dog bowl.

Would there be poop bag dispensers?

Yes, poop bag dispensers will continue to be provided at the park.

A pavilion might be nice, but the image looks really large. Would you need to reserve it?

The pavilion shown in the draft concept plan would be a relatively small pavilion, no more than 20 by 20 feet. Pavilion use would be on a first come-first served basis.

How would fitness equipment be maintained?

The Parks and Recreation Department would maintain the fitness equipment as any other park amenity.

How about a pickleball court?

We are not able to place pickleball courts in addition to the basketball court within the lower basin due to restrictions on the amount of impervious cover or concrete. Outside the basin, there is no feasible space for a pickleball court within the park due to space limitations and noise compatibility issues with adjacent residents.

It looks as if the basketball court would fit in the northwest area near Kirby Hall and East Drive. Would you consider that to make it less domineering?

We believe the basketball court is in the best location. There are a lot of constraints with placement of the basketball court. The space needs to be level and away from roads where the ball might accidentally be released. In addition, we wanted to avoid impacting existing trees. There are also underground utilities in some areas where we should not place it. We don’t want to have to dig up the court to do maintenance or repair an underground utility.

The new location of the basketball court is cramped. Please make sure the new court is as large as the old one. Lights at the court would also be nice.

The proposed basketball court is the same size as the current one, and we are planning dark-skies compliant lighting around it. We think there will be fewer issues with debris covering the court after it rains in the new location.

I believe the playground should have a universal design. The play equipment and area should be accessible to children of all abilities.

The playground will be designed to meet all federal and state accessibility requirements and will seek to provide features for all-abilities play as feasible for a small neighborhood park playground.

Ideally I would like the retaining walls to match the historic walls that line the creek, but some type of mosaic mural, or something with a surface that will discourage tagging or will be easy to clean could also work. Evening lighting should be down facing and kept to a minimum. Also, I'd like the pavilion to be in keeping with the historic park architecture of the neighborhood, like what you see at Eastwoods Park (bathrooms) and the pavilion at Shipe Park.

Generally, survey respondents preferred a limestone façade for the walls that would be in keeping with historic features. If a pavilion is included, it would likely be metal for maintenance reasons, but we would look into adding rock around the poles so that the look and feel is similar to other aspects of the park. There was a lot of concern about graffiti, and we are looking into anti-graffiti measures. Lighting will be dark-skies compliant.

This should have features that near-by Eastwoods and Shipe Park do not - climbing wall, nature play, etc. The neighborhood needs a variety of public park spaces.

We took into account regional park planning efforts and what amenities were considered desirable in this area when we started on the concept planning.

Adams-Hemphill Concept Plan

Survey Results