austin public skatepark action committee

The City of Austin Bond Committee is back to taking public input. They had
been told they needed to reduce their recommended bond total from $800
million to $600 million.

City Manager, Toby Futrell and PARD Director Warren Struce informed me on Saturday that the current bond proposal did not include any money for BMX or skate facilities. This afternoon (12/7/2005), Mr. Struce called me to update me with great news. The current bond proposal DOES include $620,000 for a BMX park and $650,000 for a skatepark(s). He said it was still very important for skaters to attend these bond input meetings to ensure that these numbers do not get cut in favor of other projects people at these meetings will be lobbying for. Of all the projects people lobbied for at the last round of meetings, skate and bmx facilities received the largest turnout and with a strong turnout, we’ll guarantee that this money will be set aside so the city can add more skate stuff in other parts of the city.

So tell all your friends. Tell ‘em they don’t even need to speak. They just need to show up and fill out the form saying what they support. The first meeting is this Thursday, December 8th at 7:00 pm. The second one is on January 5th. Bring cardboard signs. Bring whatever. Show up and make a ruckus. Here’s a flyer you can print and distribute. Here’s a map to where the meeting will be held

On November 8th, Residents of Travis County, have the opportunity to vote for a bond that will include more than $500,000 for a public, concrete skatepark in Northeast Metro Park. The election is on November 8th, but early voting has already started. Here is a flyer with information about all the items included in the bond package.

The skatepark item is the result of many Austin skateboarders and BMX’ers attending public input meetings for the bond and asking for this amenity to be included.

The text refers to an in-ground skatepark in order to ensure that the implementation does not involve prefab, which is usually described
as ‘above ground.’ The design will be created at a later date, and will be the result of public input from users of the facility.

Early voting for the Travis County (public skatepark) Bond Package is underway until Friday (November 4th) afternoon. Here is a link to early voting locations. You can vote at any of those locations regardless of what part of Travis County you live in. Also, you can skip any of the other issues on the ballot. It’s BOND PROPOSITION 2 that allocates for 62+ million dollars to the building of new parks (including the Northeast Metro In-ground Skatepark) that we need to vote “FOR.”

The City of Austin Bond Advisory Committee will be taking public input for the last time this evening. This input is intended to help guide them towards identifying the projects to be included in a spring bond election. Since these bonds only come along once every five to seven years, this is a critical opportunity to get more skateparks, skate plazas, and BMX parks sooner rather than later. Even if you don’t feel comfortable speaking in public, your presence at this meeting is extraordinarily valuable. You can scribble your thoughts down on a form and hand it in and you can also contribute your 3:00 minutes of speaking time to other skatepark advocates to use. We had a decent turnout at the last meeting, but we really need to blow this one out if we’re going to get the Bond Committee to prioritize support for skateboarding in this city bond package. This bond is entirely separate from the Travis County Bond input process where skaters lobbied earlier this year. Our strong turnout at those meetings is rumored to have convinced the county bond committee to include somewhere around $600k for a public skatepark to be built near Manor.

Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Location: 5801 Ainez Drive
Directions:

South on I35 to William Cannon. Go East on Wm. Cannon until you reach Pleasant Valley. Go north on Pleasant Valley (aka Nuckols). Take first
right– should be Escuelita Drive, which will turn into Ainez Drive. The meeting is in the Dove Springs Recreation Center in front of the park.

Grindline’s crew has been working for several weeks at Mabel Davis Park in Austin. The street course is close to completion and the bowl should be finished within the next few weeks. Tony Arnold of Austin Parks and Recreation says the grand opening is tentatively planned for November 19.

Construction is underway on the public skatepark at Mabel Davis. Right now the focus is on earth moving. Except for the bowl, it’s too early to see the definition of the overall design, but the street section is beginning to take shape.

It’s also now possible to get an idea of how large the skatepark is going to be. According to one of the people working on the project, it’s large enough to spin donuts in an 18-wheeler.

The Austin Public Skatepark Action Committee last week brokered a deal with the City of Austin to allow skateboarding on a vacant piece of city property adjacent to the Town Lake hike and bike trail. The property will eventually be the site of the Mexican American Cultural Center, but for the time being, skateboarders can ride the flat foundations left from the buildings that previously occupied the spot.

The deal represents a partnership between skateboarders and the city which requires the skateboarders to maintain the facility to ensure litter is cleaned up and graffiti doesn’t appear.

Here is a map to the new, free skateboarding facility.