After meeting with members of the staffs of the City of Austin Public Works Department’s Neighborhood Partnering Program (NPP) and Street and Bridge Operations and the City of Austin Library System, as well as neighbors and community members, we were able to hold our first public community meeting to get feedback on the Gonzales Park  and Pump Track Proposal . It had a solid turnout with 35 people in attendance, including representatives from the Neighborhood Association and Boys and Girls Club of Austin Area, in addition to neighbors along Gonzales Street and the surrounding community.

The community meeting on Saturday July 30th kicked off with pancakes and coffee at 9 am, followed by a 45 minute information and discussion/Q&A session. The most important component of the meeting was the community feedback section where neighbors and community members wrote comments on features to add, things to move or remove, concerns, and notes of support on black & white versions of the site plan.

The meeting wrapped up with a Keep Austin Beautiful clean-up where we collected and removed 20 cubic feet of trash and debris from the site, plus things like tires, mattresses, and shopping carts.

Our next step is to review all of the comments and work to modify the site plans based on the feedback we received. Everyone was thrilled about the plan including access to Cepeda Library along the proposed path. The pump track plan was well received, and in particular, the use of concrete or asphalt surface materials which will make it an all-ages and all-weather riding surface requiring little long-term maintenance. There were also requests for things like tether ball posts, swing sets, a mini-soccer court, and other recreational components in the spaces left open under the bridge.