Onion Creek Metro Park Community Involvement Kickoff Meeting

The entire Austin community is asked to help planners identify a vision for the types of activities and improvements for the Onion Creek Metro Park and Greenbelt Corridor, a 555-acre regional park in southeast Travis County.

 

The kick off meeting to develop a draft vision statement for the Onion Creek Metro Park Master Plan will be on Monday, March 17, 6-8 p.m. at Mendez Middle School, 5106 Village Square Dr. The event is sponsored by the Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

" At this point, we are open to all ideas on how the public wants to use the parkland and to suggestions for improvements," says Ricardo Soliz, Parks and Recreation Planning Division Manager. "It's important to us that we hear from as many people as possible so that we can develop a compelling vision for the park that will serve both the neighborhood and the entire city."

 

The Onion Creek Metro Park will be located in southeast Travis County, just south of Onion Creek. The land – flat, wooded and pond-filled – is undeveloped and used by area residents. The Onion Creek Greenbelt is north of the creek. Onion Creek travels approximately 79 miles. 

 

The regional park may include improvements to open space and the creek, making them more accessible to the public. Also being considered are safe, accessible trails for walking, running, or biking; dog parks; equestrian activities; ball fields; and areas in the park for gatherings. New facilities for recreation, entertainment, exercise and education are being contemplated as part of the vision for the park. Once improvements to the park are made, funding for maintenance and operations costs can come from a newly formed Park District. The Park District was created in 2013 by the Texas Legislature specifically to provide an ongoing funding source for the Onion Creek Metro Park through fee charged to homeowners in the yet to be developed Goodnight Ranch.

 

Thoughts and ideas gathered from citizens at the first meeting will be presented at future community meetings during the master planning process. The Master Plan scheduled for completion in May 2015.