A fourth meeting about the fate of heritage trees in Brackenridge Park ended with a proposal to remove 43 trees and save 34 trees originally slated to be destroyed.
The fourth Brackenridge 2017 Bond Project meeting was held on June 14, 2022 where findings and final recommendations were presented on phase one which consisted of wall relocation conclusions, tree assessment, final designs, and project schedule. The next meeting is scheduled for July 14.
The meeting was originally scheduled to discuss phase two of the project, but in the last meeting, Director of Parks and Recreation Department Homer Garcia recommended slowing down the discussion. The last meeting focused on site investigation reporting and a specialist panel with a Q&A.
The city has announced that more meetings will occur in the future to discuss phase two, however, dates have not been announced.
Based on the city’s presentation, the city said cons outweigh the pros on Lambert Beach’s wall relocation where the only three pros are:
- Preserving 8 large trees
- Maintaining existing ecosystem
- Providing additional pedestrian space near bath house
Furthermore, the updated tree plan for phase one would remove 6 heritage trees, 37 significant trees, and 8 invasive or dead trees. Unlike the previous plan, 19 trees would be relocated, saving a total of 34 heritage and significant trees.
Parks and Recreation and Public Works aim to have the whole design completed by September 2022 and present the plans to the Texas Historical Commission (THC) in October 2022 and the Historic and Design Review Commission (HDRC) in November/December 2022.
Although the dates have not been announced, the following meetings are structured as:
- 01- Phase two introduction and concept
- Interactive program boards and design charrette
- 02- Phase two design presentation
- Presentation and expert Q&A