Wednesday afternoon, Park Board commissioners, Falls 4 All committee members, donors, and other members of the community gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new universal access playground coming to Minnehaha Falls Park, as well as a second playground planned for the North Plateau Picnic area of the park (located near Sea Salt Eatery). The grand opening for both playgrounds is scheduled for next spring.Peggy Halvorson, chair of Falls 4 All, spoke at the groundbreaking. Falls 4 All raised $450,000 to help make the playground accessible. It was also named volunteer group of the year this spring by the Park Board.“The childhood experience is play,” said Peggy Halvorson, chair of Falls 4 All, at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Children grow and learn on the playground in their experience with others in ways not taught in classrooms. The benefits of unstructured play are profound. Continue Reading
A Riverfront Festival is planned for Friday, July 26, 6 p.m. to sunset at Sibley Street and the Plymouth Avenue Bridge. The idea is to help people envision and eventually name “the park that will be.” It was land owned by Scherer Brothers Lumber, recently acquired.One of the first sites planned for development under the RiverFirst initiative, there will be a beach, channel, and reconstruction of the historic Hall’s Island. Organizers plan to stake out and connect the major features so that people can sense the scale that is so often hard to relate to when looking at artist renderings.Food trucks will be on hand, local beer for sale, and music. “Bring your idea for a name, enter the raffle for a chance at a River Otter Puppet and other fun prizes,” says the post card the sponsors are circulating. The event is sponsored by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board with support from the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership and the East Minneapolis Exchange Club. Continue Reading
Begging for more off-leash love in the Twin Cities? After years of eager anticipation, the Lyndale Farmstead Off-Leash Recreation Area (formerly known as the Sixth District Dog Park) is opening and hoping your pooch will come play starting next week. Continue Reading
The Minneapolis City Council June 14 passed the revised Above the Falls (ATF) plan for land use along the Mississippi River starting at Plymouth/8th Avenue NE.After a series of delays, the City Planning Commission and then the Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee approved the new plan after amending the language in the implementation chapter allowing industrial uses to remain, expand, and be modified until acquired for parks.Other language added design issues to the scope of the rezoning study that will be done after the plan is adopted: “The rezoning study should also include a review of the basic zoning tools impacting the riverfront district, including site plan review standards, Mississippi River Critical Area and Shoreland overlay standards, and the standards of those Zoning Districts found within the study area. If appropriate, the rezoning study might propose refinements to these zoning standards to bring them more in line with the goals of the Above the Falls Master Plan.”During earlier public meetings about the plan revision, two of the concerns raised were about GAF Company (next to and under the over-land portion of the Lowry Avenue Bridge’s west end), saying park and river access plans would negatively affect the business’ future; and by Northern Metals, claiming businesses had not been adequately involved in the process.On the flip side, others asked for more information about polluting industries and asked that they be moved out of the area more quickly. The staff report pointed out that more than 50 business interviews were conducted. Regarding pollution, while 160 companies on 300 sites in the area with potential to pollute are considered “active,” most have been operating within legal guidelines, the report says.While waiting for businesses to move from Sub-areas 5 and 6, since connectivity to the river is the goal, the parties involved should work on “short-term mitigation efforts, including greening and buffering of sites, to reduce negative impacts on the surrounding area,” the staff report states.Subarea 5 is between 26th and 31st, from the river to the railroad, and Subarea 6 is the railroad to Washington between 21st and 31st.The full Above the Falls (ATF) Master Plan Update can be found on line at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@cped/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-101581.pdf.The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has started its 45-day comment period on the plan; more info at www.minneapolis parks.org/abovethefalls.There are some interesting statistics in the staff report regarding the 6,097 jobs in the Above the Falls study area (2010, the most recent year available for the level of analysis).Around 190 jobs (3.1 percent) were held by residents of the two major North Minneapolis ZIP codes, 55411 and 55412. Around 254 jobs (4.2 percent) were held by residents of the three major Northeast Minneapolis ZIP codes 55418, 55413, and 55414.A total of around 786 jobs (12.6 percent) were held by Minneapolis residents in general. Continue Reading
Construction of a new play area at Hendon Avenue and Branston Street in St. Anthony Park will begin this summer and take approximately two months to complete.The city removed the park’s 1960s playground equipment in May 2012 without public notice citing safety concerns. Residents were told that the city had no plans or funds to replace the equipment.Neighbors quickly banned together to work with the city to replace the playground. The project will be funded through the city, private donations from the neighborhood, Sunrise Banks, St. Anthony Park Community Foundation and with a $10,000 grant from the BNSF Railroad Foundation.The new playground will feature a picnic table and a swinging bench, along with some fun smaller features that will incorporate natural elements, such as boulders and, possibly, animal tracks in the concrete sidewalk, said Deanna Seppanen, a neighbor who was a part of the playground replacement effort.Two trees will be removed at the park but will be replaced in 2014. Continue Reading
All nine Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB)commissioner seats are up for election this fall. The group regularly makes fiduciary and other key decisions about the city parks, community centers, and other recreation activities.
The 7th annual Minnehaha Creek Cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon at Lake Hiawatha Park (44th Street and 28th Avenue).The goal this year is to collect two tons of trash along Minnehaha Creek and the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. To reward volunteers for their efforts, there will be free food, prizes, music and fun!9 a.m. – Registration and free bagel breakfast.9:30 a.m. – Board buses to cleanup locations along creek and chain of lakes.11-11:30 a.m. – Return to Lake Hiawatha for free BBQ lunch.1 p.m. – Prizes for kids and adults, including a canoe.Kids activities include face painting and art activities by ArtRageous Adventures and the MCWD’s “Putt Putt for Clean Water” mini golf game. REI will provide a bike technician at the on-site bike/canoe check.Paddlers are encouraged to bring their canoes or kayaks and help clean up debris around Lake Hiawatha. The paddleboarding community—including the MN Standup Paddleboarders Association and Wayzata-based Wai Nani Surf & Paddle—will focus their efforts on Minnehaha Creek.RSVPs are required. Sign up at minnehahacreek.org/CleanUp.The event is sponsored by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in partnership with Metro Blooms. Additional support and promotion are provided by Dick’s Sanitation, Centerline Charter Corp., REI and KS95. Continue Reading
Minneapolis is vastly different today than a couple of decades ago as the city’s population has grown with more persons of color. Is the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB) keeping pace with the demographic changes?
