Path toward a greener riverfront at issue in North, Northeast Minneapolis
North Minneapolis's riverfront needs more attractive destinations to shape a better relationship to the Mississippi. Northeast Minneapolis's riverfront needs a clearer path to transition over time to continuous riverfront park space.
Those are two of the principal changes Friends of the Mississippi River has suggested to the current draft of plan for the Above the Falls area in Minneapolis. Recommendations such as these will be the topic of discussion at the third and final public meeting on plans for the Above the Falls area scheduled for December 10th (see details below). You're invited to learn more and share your thoughts then as well.
The draft plan renews Minneapolis's vision for a continuous public riverfront park upstream of downtown. After several years of study, Minneapolis and its Park Board are inching toward adopting the plan sometime in 2013, and will be seeking public input next month.
At the last public meeting in October, attendees expressed concerns the plans didn't go far enough, particularly in revitalizing the riverfront along Minneapolis's North Side. A number of community members remained pointedly skeptical about the call for new business parks and industrial areas roughly between Broadway and Dowling Avenues in north Minneapolis, preferring a mix of residential and commercial uses instead. FMR agrees.
FMR has commented that in north Minneapolis, great care must be taken to plan and zone for riverfront destinations that will attract people to what currently is a neglected industrial waterfront. (Download FMRs full comments at the link below.)
"The city talks about putting a business park along major sections of the riverfront," notes River Corridor Program Director Irene Jones, "but people aren't going to come to the riverfront just to see a business park. Plans need to emphasize the need for more significant destinations major restaurants, a performance space, a school, a museum. Those will generate the energy that we need in this area. North Side deserves a rock-solid connection to lively riverfront parks."
While plans call for a new mixed commercial-residential hub north of Dowling Avenue, the plans call for the area between Dowling and the Burlington Northern rail bridge near 26th Avenue to be predominantly industrial or a business park, which connects to the core of North Minneapolis.
In Northeast Minneapolis, existing parks are scattered along Marshall Street NE. There the major challenge in the coming years is to figure out how in an predictable and fair way to acquire the many smaller private parcels along the riverfront to complete the long-awaited continuous public riverfront.
Earlier drafts had suggested that new private development might be encouraged near the riverfront; as the plan has evolved, that approach has been de-emphasized, and many stakeholders and neighbors want to make sure the final plan reflects this.
"We need real commitment to complete this transition to a continuous riverfront park," said Mary Jamin Maguire, longtime co-chair of the Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee (AFCAC). "That includes buying land as opportunities present themselves, and actively working to implement the green setbacks and trails described in the Above the Falls Plan."
What you can do
To make this plan a success, we need your voice and observations as well. Join FMR, AFCAC and the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership for the final forum on the draft plan on December 10th:
- Monday, December 10, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Open house: 6:30-7:00 p.m.
Program: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Table discussions: 8:30-9:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, 2117 W. River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55411