Blue Hole master plan draft prioritizes nature preservation, adds parking and safety features; council raises floodplain and maintenance questions

Kimberly Garrett, Georgetown parks and recreation director, and Aaron Cooper of HAF presented a draft master plan for Blue Hole Park that emphasizes preservation of natural areas while adding wayfinding, restroom facilities, a new park entrance and more structured parking options.

The draft concept, shaped by two earlier designs and public engagement, reflects input from a spring survey of 578 participants and in-person outreach at the city's Red Poppy Fest. Consultants said most respondents live more than two miles from the park, visit one to three times a month and favor improving existing activities rather than adding new high-intensity uses.

Key elements of the draft plan include a redesigned Rock Street terminus with a one-way circulation roundabout and diagonal parking intended to add about 20 stalls in the north-of-Second-Street area; a new restroom near the main entrance; terraces and stabilized shorelines on the south San Gabriel…