Park Renovation Ousts Homeless
The City of Austin hosted a meeting in May 2011 to hear how other cities in the state – San Antonio and Dallas in particular – handle issues of homelessness. Photo by Erik Reyna/KUT NewsThe park at Wooldridge Square will soon be closed for landscape renovation. City officials say they’ll add new sprinklers, grass and trees to make it a greener, more inviting location. During this makeover, a fence will go up around the park – blocking access for the next eight to 10 months. And that’s a big deal to the homeless community that frequents the park.
Marty Stump is the development coordinator for the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“We’re communicating to them the schedule – the fact that the temporary construction fence will go up the first week of June,” Stump says. “The park will be out of commission for any and all park users until March of 2013. So eight to 10 months of closure in order for that park to rejuvenate.”
Stump says the planned improvements should make the park more attractive to all its visitors. He says currently, homeless visitors outnumber others coming to the grounds.
