The Brief
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The Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department is redesigning Blue Hole Park
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The department is seeking public input
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The project is part of the city’s broader downtown master plan
GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department is redesigning one of its most popular parks: Blue Hole.
It’s still in the beginning stages, and they’re hoping to get public input.
What we know
In April, the city released a draft of an update to its downtown master plan.
One of the things it identified as a potential project was Blue Hole Park, which is part of the San Gabriel River that runs next to downtown.
With its rushing water and tall cliffs, Georgetown’s Blue Hole Park speaks for itself.
After five decades in the city’s park system, Blue Hole has only seen two upgrades: Once in the 90s and again in the early 2000s.
That’s why the parks department hopes to convince the city council to find more funding for a redesign.
What they’re saying
“It’s kind of like a refreshing breath of air,” said Mike Heath, a parkgoer Saturday.
“Third generation Georgetonian, and I think the secrets really out on Blue Hole,” said Shane Lemanski, another parkgoer.
“Blue Hole has always been a priority,” said Kimberly Garrett, Georgetown’s Parks and Recreation Director. “It’s kind of one of our hidden gems, but during the downtown master plan there was a lot of interest in connecting and improving Blue Hole to the downtown, so it became a priority.”
Parkgoers have a few ideas already.
“It’s a lot of natural beauty so I’d like for them to preserve that but also maybe enhance like the gravel kind of area around here,” said Lemanski. “It’s a little spotty and rocky in some areas.”
“Yeah, maybe make it a little bit more comfortable to lie and sit down around here,” said Anna Zverina, who was at the park with Lemanski.
“Really the only thing that this needs is just a few more trees, a little better access, and some parking,” said Heath. “It’s one of those great hidden gems that we have up here in Georgetown.”
One thing that could make renovations a little bit challenging for the city is this area’s historic flooding. Back in 2007, the river rose almost to the bottom of the N Austin Avenue bridge.
“Which destroyed the trail and the driveway that used to go through the park so we went back and put in just a hike and bike trail and the restroom, but we haven’t done any measure of improvements since then,” said Garrett.
What you can do
What comes next is partially up to the public.
The city will consider survey and open house results to determine the final designs and funding for the park.
That could take another nine months.
“Blue Hole is a great place for our residents, but it’s also a destination for visitors and tourists, so if people have ever been to Blue Hole, they might have thoughts and ideas of what would make it special, or they might have seen something in another community or another area that would be an enhancement that we could consider,” said Garrett.
The first of three surveys closes on Sunday. The parks department will present the results to the city council in February.
The Source
Information in this articles comes from interviews with FOX 7’s Lauren Rangel.
