RiverFirst envisions new paths to the river, new parks and trails when you get there
CAPTION: Concept for 26th Avenue Pier, where the Greenway
will reach the riverfront. View from East Bank. Image TLS/KVA.
The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board hosted a
community open house on January 17 to showcase the progress the RiverFirst
Design Team has made over the last six months. The meeting took place at
Nicollet Island Pavilion.
Northsiders
can anticipate visible changes to 26th Avenue, beginning at Farview Park and
ending up at the river’s edge, or close to it.
While the
designs shown at the RiverFirst open house aren’t final, the community may find
large, blue stripes painted on sidewalks and streets and new “branded” street
signs and posters, showing them the way to the Mississippi River. Street signs
and lamppost flags are examples of “wayfinding” signage.
In addition
to wayfinding, 26th Avenue improvements will include making paths for bikers
and walkers that are separated from traffic by natural barriers made of tree
and grass plantings.
The Park
Board is talking about a 2014 start date for construction. On the Northeast
side, 22nd Avenue will get the same treatment.
Other
project updates presented by the design team were walking and biking “loops”
around the river, going up and down both the North and Northeast side and
connecting over all four Upper Riverfront bridges: Lowry, Broadway and Plymouth
Avenues, and the BNSF railway bridge. The loops are about as long as walking
around Lake Calhoun or Lake Harriet, and would give great access to the
Mississippi River.
The design
team is also working on designs for a new park just north of Boom Island,
across the Plymouth Avenue Bridge on the Northeast side. It would include a
park building and a beach on a protected cove, where visitors could swim or put
in boats, and possibly fish nearby.
Called
Scherer Park, it would also feature a restored island. Hall’s Island would be
primarily new native habitat for animals and fish. People could access the
island from boardwalks at either end and a path across the top.
RiverFirst
is a special project of the Minneapolis Park Board that’s focused on creating
new parks and trails along or connected to the Upper Mississippi. The City of
Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Parks Foundation are the Park Board’s partners.
The three
organizations formed a partnership called the RiverFirst Initiative, to work
together on getting the new ideas developed.
RiverFirst
started as the Minneapolis Riverfront Design Competition in 2010. In 2011 the
Park Board ran the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative, which
resulted in what’s called the “RiverFirst Vision,” a 20-year proposal for parks
and related development along the Upper River. Learn about RiverFirst at riverfirst.com
or MinneapolisParks.org.