Some major upgrades, including a new amphitheater, are coming to City Park as part of the Proposition 5 Park and Trail Improvements.
“There are a lot of exciting things that are in store for City Park,” said Parks and Recreation Director Greg Olmer. “The amphitheater is going to be a main focal point of the project. We are trying to draw in additional festivals and regional events that can really bring in tourism.”
The stage itself will be about 900 square feet. Our Public Works Department has started the prep work for construction.
“With the amphitheater here and drawing larger crowds potentially, we will work closely with our police department, with the county, and all of the local entities that it takes to put on a big festival.
We have the capacity for a large crowd to be here so we do have to get a traffic management plan in place and that is currently in the works.”
There will also be a road improvement project at Garison Road and Main Street.
“Right now at Garison and San Antonio you have two stop signs getting out on to Main Street. This can create a potentially dangerous situation on the traffic that is going in both directions. With the road improvements it is going to curve more into the park. There will be a better entry and access point to the park and also exiting the park there will be one line of traffic to get out on to main street. “
The project will be done concurrently with the expansion of the park and will be finished by the time the park opens.
“We will have some alternate exit areas around the back of the park. That way we can have two exit and entry points to help with the traffic flow.”
Other improvements include pavilion upgrades, a new playground area for the kids, and new restrooms.
"We are excited about new playground areas for the kids for two different age groups. Right in the middle of the two playgrounds we are going to have a splash pad, as well with a lot of water features.”
There will also be a grill area and plenty of space for the public to enjoy.
We did have to take some trees down to make room for construction. The trees taken down were mostly Hackberry and other variations. We expect to plant an additional 177 trees on the site.
After the wiener dog races at the end of April, City Park will close to the public for heavy construction. So what does this mean for upcoming events or current activities at City Park?
“Right now we are working with alternate locations potentially. There are some groups that use the park for fitness, so we are working to possibly relocate them at Stagecoach Park. We are working with the Buda Area Chamber of Commerce to find other access points. We are working more closely with the downtown greenbelt for Red, White, and Buda. We will still be able to shoot off the fireworks in the same area, but we are determining a staging area for the public.”
Construction will take about a year to complete.
“The time frame is about 10 to 12 months, weather permitting. We are optimistic that if everything holds right as far as the weather, we can get it done less than a year. If that is the case we will be able to potentially reopen the park with the wiener dog races in 2019. With this upgrade that we are doing it is truly going to be a signature asset of the city.”
You can watch the video version of the story here: City Park Prop 5 Improvements Video
