The first completed project of our ACL Music Festival Grants Program for 2017 is a brand new shade structure at Dick Nichols District Park! In April of 2016, Friends of Dick Nichols applied for and was awarded, a Community Grant of $50,000 in order to build the structure over the main play area at this highly-trafficked park.
Located in Southwest Austin, Dick Nichols District Park sees hundreds of people on a daily basis. The park houses many amenities including a pool, tennis courts, volleyball courts, walking trails, a splash pad and a playground. Unfortunately the playground is totally exposed to the sun, and therefore, too hot to use during the scorching summer months. The extremely high surface temperature of the playscape means it is largely unavailable during the heat of the summer, which forces families to utilize surrounding neighborhood parks. This leads to overcrowding of shaded parks like Circle C.
Seeing the need for an outdoor play space with a shield from the hot Texas sun, Friends of Dick Nichols endeavored to install a shade structure that would allow families to enjoy the playground year round and increase the usability of the park’s assets.
With the structure now in place, the Friends of Dick Nichols are excited to welcome the summer (and the summer-like temperatures we’ve been experiencing in the last few weeks) and the community back to the playscape.
