Workshop 2: Riverfront Parks Update
It’s summertime! That means it’s time for this:
Can we please not destroy it this year?
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Last year, we implemented a can ban.
It did not go very well.
Mostly because the park was mobbed with so many visitors that staff couldn’t keep up:
We saw this last year:
The arrests are low, because the marshals can’t take the time to arrest someone.
We saw these sad photos from the river last year, too:
and
It’s very depressing.
Trying to keep up with the crowds is super labor intensive:
Also there are a ton of volunteers, like the The Eyes of the San Marcos River, that show up weekly and pick up the massive amount of litter left behind.
Basically, San Marcos residents have stopped using the river on the weekends. It’s used by tourists from San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and other out-of-towners:
But we don’t collect any tax revenue from them, because they don’t stop at the restaurants or spend the night.
So residents are footing the bill, while the river is over-used by others to the point of destruction.
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What happened is that there used to be lots of free river parks in Central Texas. But one-by-one, they all got fenced off and started charging admission. This put the pressure on families to travel further and further to get some free recreation and relief from the summer heat.
We’re the last park that is still free. So now we’re getting more people than our river can handle.
This is a collective action problem, specifically a kind called the tragedy of the commons. People have destroyed many, many finite natural resources throughout history. It would be great not to add our river to that list.
I hate this situation so much. I want people to have free recreation to escape the Texas heat! I want families to have fun together! And yet we absolutely have to keep our river healthy and clean.
(The actual solution is that Central Texas needs a lot more free water recreation options available for residents in the summer. The heat is brutal. If we had a functional state government that tried to improve things for their residents, they could solve that problem.)(If my aunt had wheels, she’d be a wagon.)
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So what are we doing differently this year?
First off, for holiday weekends:
blocking off Cheatham on either end. We started doing this on holiday weekends last year, and it helped keep people safer.
Next: getting the shuttles out of the neighborhoods:
So now the Lion’s Club shuttle takes the I-35 frontage road, instead of going down Riverside.
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Those are both good, but what about the BIG problems?
After last fall, Council was timidly open to the idea of fencing off the river and charging admission. But they had lots of questions. It was very preliminary.
But then it hasn’t come up since then.
So this was kind of a surprise! The park staff want to try some stuff out this year:
WHOA. That’s this weekend! This is pretty short notice!
The plan:
They want to test out fencing off this one part of the park, by the falls:
You would only be able to get in at those four green entries. You’d have to talk to someone, who reminds you of the rules, like the ban on charcoal grills, and single-use containers, and alcohol.
Maybe we could we keep things from getting less out of hand?
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I think this is a pretty good idea? I’m surprised that it materialized so fast, but this is a good test run.
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City staff also floats the idea of charging admission to out-of-towners on weekends? Not residents, just tourists:
Residents would have to register for a pass.
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Also they want to be able to tow people more easily:
Right now, only Marshals or police can get a vehicle towed. They want to make it easier for the Parking Enforcement Techs to get a vehicle towed, so that the Marshals can keep dealing with the park.
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What does Council think?
Amanda and Alyssa both: This is all super rushed. This is way too fast. We also have major concerns about staffing – there were some marshals that were overly aggressive and problematic?
City manager Stephanie Reyes: The park marshal that was in the news was fired. But listen: it’s super dangerous there. We’ve gotten very lucky, but please take this seriously.
Jane: All these decisions have to come back, though, with precise definitions.
Parks Director: You can defer the fee. We don’t need to charge people. We just want to have the fence so that we can talk to people before they go in. You can send someone to go put contraband in their car if you catch them on their way in, but once they’ve set up and are midway through the day, it gets dicey.
Saul: Do we own the fence?
Answer: no, we’re renting it. But it’s rolled in to the cost of the Porta-potties. We got a great deal.
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There are three questions for Council to answer:
- Do they want to try fencing off Rio Vista park?
- Do they want to charge admission to out-of-towners?
- Do they want parking techs to be allowed to get vehicles towed?
Let’s take these one at a time:
- Fencing off Rio Vista Park, around the falls?
Yes: Saul, Jane, Amanda, Lorenzo, Shane, Matthew
No: Alyssa, who says she cannot sign onto anything without more details.
I think this is a good idea.
2. Charging an admission fee for out-of-towners?
No. There is not much appetite for charging a fee immediately. There are too many unknown details about how exactly we’d pre-register residents.
What about having a future conversation about charging an admission fee?
Yes to a conversation: Saul, Jane, Lorenzo, Amanda, Matthew
No: Alyssa, Shane
3. Parking techs allowed to get someone towed?
Yes: Jane, Matthew, Lorenzo
No: Saul , Amanda, Shane, Alyssa
So this fails.
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We’re also moving forward with paid parking at the Lion’s Club:
So the idea is that it’s free for residents, as long as you register ahead of time:
You can also register online.
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The workshop ran way over time. They didn’t start the council meeting until almost 7 pm.
The San Marxist 