Austin’s Todd Park is slated to reopen Saturday

Published 9:45 am Tuesday, August 18, 2009

After being shut down for roughly two months because of tornado damage, Todd Park is slated to reopen Saturday.

The park was among the areas hardest hit by a June 17 tornado that hit Austin — parks and recreation director Kim Underwood has said 50 percent of the park’s trees were destroyed.

She said Monday that equated to at least 300 trees.

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Many of those trees were either uprooted, leaving large holes in the park, or left dangling precariously — both dangerous scenarios for park visitors.

With the park being in such a state, only baseball diamonds have been reopened to date.

Underwood said her department’s staff have worked tirelessly to clean up the park and make it safe again.

“It’s kind of exciting, actually,” she said.

Underwood added Monday that she did not have a dollar-amount estimate of the damage.