additional construction work forced a delay<\/a>.<\/p>\nAccording to Austin Parks and Recreation Department Aquatic Program Manager Aaron Levine, crews removed about 100 feet of old concrete infrastructure from the pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had old infrastructure that needed to come out,\u201d Levine said. \u201cWe were being proactive \u2014 trying to remove it before it caused any issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levine added that while the structure hadn\u2019t yet caused major problems, the work was necessary to ensure long-term safety.<\/p>\n
\nLong lines and packed parking lots <\/p>\n
With the pool finally reopened, visitors braved the heat \u2014 and large crowds \u2014 to get inside. Lines stretched long, and parking proved difficult at times.<\/p>\n
Still, many said the experience was worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so cold,\u201d said visitors Laila Flores and Laryn Pe\u00f1a. \u201cWhen you get in the water, you can\u2019t breathe for a second because it\u2019s so cold, but it\u2019s really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others took to the diving board, watching more experienced swimmers perform flips and dives before jumping in themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see people doing triple backflips and stuff, and I don\u2019t even know how to do that \u2014 I\u2019m just going to jump in,\u201d Flores said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nA historic pool with ongoing upkeep <\/p>\n
Often referred to as one of Austin\u2019s gems, Barton Springs Pool continues to show its age. City officials say ongoing maintenance projects will remain a priority to preserve the site for future visitors.<\/p>\n
For those planning a visit, Austin Parks and Recreation recommends purchasing tickets ahead of time through the \u201cATXSwims\u201d mobile app to save time at the entrance.<\/p>\n
The department is also hiring lifeguards, offering $22.05 per hour along with free training. Applicants can learn more and apply online through the city\u2019s lifeguard recruitment website here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Visitors faced hot temperatures and long lines to cool off in Austin’s gem. AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 After a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-215689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}