Proposed changes to Auditorium Shores 鈥� and specifically, changes to the area available to dogs and their owners 鈥� have people talking.
As part of , the city鈥檚 proposed moving the off-leash dog area closer to the Lady Bird Lake shoreline 鈥� and away from joggers and cyclists using the trail. And while the change would shrink the current off-leash area, it would also restrict dogs entirely from the largest portion of Auditorium Shores 鈥� the so-called 鈥淓vent Lawn.鈥� (See a map of the proposed changes in the slideshow above.)
With the trail along Auditorium Shores hosting a multitude of different users 鈥� runners, cyclists, dog folks and more 鈥� KUT News recently paid the area a visit to see if peace could be achieved between its users, and to get a read on the proposed changes. (The consensus? Most people would prefer to keep allowing total park access for dogs.)
The Dog-Walker
Name: Marc Morrison
Age: 52
Occupation: Photographer
Neighborhood: Central Austin
How he uses the park: Morrison and his girlfriend use the park for mountain biking, running and other outdoor activities with their dogs.
Thoughts on the proposed changes: 鈥淚鈥檓 not terribly excited about that. It鈥檚 been like this for so long. Everybody kind of knows this one little section is 鈥榮low down鈥� so you don鈥檛 have to worry about running into the dogs. We鈥檝e talked to people all around the world about this park 鈥� It鈥檚 very well-known, it鈥檒l be a sad day to see if it goes away.鈥�
The Yoga Instructor
Name: Carlina Muglia
Age: 20s
Occupation: Law firm researcher, CrossFit instructor and yoga teacher
Neighborhood: South Austin
How she uses the park: Muglia does cross-fit and yoga exercises at the park three to five days per week. She often brings her dog.
Thoughts on the proposed changes: 鈥淯ltimately, one of my most favorite things about this area, dog-park-wise, is that there isn鈥檛 a fence. Barriers and dogs don鈥檛 really work. I would still use the park to workout, but it wouldn鈥檛 be the same because I would have to dedicate time specifically to 鈥榙og-park time鈥� versus 鈥榳orkout time.鈥� Right now, I can just do both at once.鈥�
The Cyclist
Name: David Jenkns
Age: 32
Occupation: Traveler
Neighborhood: North Austin
How he uses the park: Having moved back to Austin, Jenkns uses the park for mountain biking, but brings his dog often.
Thoughts on the proposed changes: 鈥嬧�淚 like to keep my dog in the water, and out of the sun as much as possible. 鈥� It seems like the dogs around here are use to each other and they get along with each other. I wouldn鈥檛 see any reason why to leash them up. If something isn鈥檛 broken, don鈥檛 fix it.鈥�
The Runner
Name: Adam Carduff
Age: 26
Occupation: Restaurant server
Neighborhood: South Austin
How he uses the park: Carduff comes to the park about once or twice per week to go running. He often brings his dog.
Thoughts on the proposed changes: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think [closing part of the park to dogs] is necessary. I haven鈥檛 seen any dogs attack anybody or anything. It seems like [dog-owners] have it under control for the most part. 鈥� I鈥檒l still come here as much as possible. I think it鈥檚 a beautiful park to run in.鈥�
The Dad
Name: Nathan West
Age: 37
Occupation: Stay-at-home parent
Neighborhood: French Place
How he uses the park: West has come to the park nearly every morning for the past eight years.
Thoughts on the proposed changes: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 enforceable. This is still a public park, people have been bringing their dogs off-leash here for decades. And Austin is a dog town 鈥� I think the stipulation of no dogs whatsoever, even on-leash, is not cool. I didn鈥檛 realize that our parks were for sale.鈥�
