AUSTIN, Texas — It's the oldest swimming pool in the state of Texas and an Austin staple.
Deep Eddy Pool in Central Austin is a gem, not just for its well-fed water, but even for its free parking. But lately, that free parking has come at a cost.
"Sometimes, it's stressful, just because I'm making circles around the parking lot," pool patron Sarah Destafeno told KVUE.
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It's a complaint the Austin Parks and Recreation Department is well aware of.
"They are having an extremely difficult time finding parking for the pool," parks director Kimberly McNeeley wrote in a memo addressed to the city council.
McNeeley cites the following reasons for the lack of parking at the pool:
- People using the parking lot to visit businesses nearby
- Increase in metered parking surrounding the pool's location
According to the City, the Deep Eddy parking lot, which serves the pool and Eilers Park, is the last free parking lot in the surrounding area.
"On a Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., we probably have, I don't know, maybe 50, 60, 70 cars in the parking lot. There's about 30 to 40 people at the pool," Paul Bardagjy said. "We have neighbors that understand that this is a park and that it's for pool and park users only, but the clientele just park here all the time."
Bardagjy is the president of Friends of Deep Eddy, a nonprofit aimed at protecting and preserving the century-old swimming hole.
He and other members of the group have tried throughout the years to remind visitors the parking lot is for the pool and park only.
"What we're trying to do is deter the people that aren't coming to the park from using our parking spaces," he said.
The parks department, however, has offered a potential solution: metered parking.
"It would be something similar to how we do Zilker Park. It would only be during the charging seasons or special events, and it wouldn't necessarily be all day – evenings, weekends, holidays," Aquatics Division Manager Jodi Jay said.
The department has placed multiple signs within the parking lot that warn drivers what the parking can be used for, but "the signage did not deter the use of the parking lot," according the city memo.
Metered parking option could help with enforcement.
"If you want to use this lot, you have to pay to park, and if you don't, there will be a ticketing option," Jay said.
The Parks Department has considered providing parking passes to season pass holders, among other options.
"We're also considering providing daily parking passes for those that pay entry to the pool for the day," Jay said.
Bardagjy wants to work with the parks department to find a better solution.
"We want it to be open for all, and I'm afraid that if we have parking meters here, it might be a little more difficult for some people that are coming to swim while it's not really deterring people that aren't coming here to swim," he said.
Both Bardagjy and parks staff will meet in October to discuss other options.
"There are a lot of different ways to solve it. What we're trying to get to is the simplest and the least painful solution so that everybody can still work with each other," he said.
If the department moves forward with the idea, metered parking would go into effect in March 2020 at the beginning of the aquatic charging season.
Revenue generated from the parking meters would go toward paying for potential improvements, like parking lot resurfacing, ADA accessible sidewalks and ramps near the parking lot, and other improvements.
You can read the city memo on the City's website.
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