It is way past time for the City of Austin to stop the Austin City Limits music festival from taking over Zilker Park each fall. Zilker is Austin's largest and most treasured greenspace, used by thousands of citizens every day. But we citizens lose access to the park for over a month every September/October, during one of the most desirable times of year for outdoor activities.

Over the years, ACL has grown from a moderately sized, one weekend event, to a massive multiweek festival that requires Zilker Park to be closed for over a month to allow for extensive setup, cleanup, repairs and restoration to the greenspace. During that time dog owners, soccer players,  families and others who want to use the park are displaced and left without a comparable alternative for outdoor activity. Access to Barton Springs Pool and playground,  equally critical recreational areas, are also significantly limited by the activity. And the impact to the park goes far beyond this- plant and animal life are severely impacted by the destruction to their habitat and noise  pollution..

Festival organizers have many other viable options across the city for hosting the event that would not be as disruptive to our citizens. It is time for our elected officials to stand up for Austin's taxpayers and preserve the parks we taxpayers pay to maintain...