Southwest Parks Plan public comment period closes August 1

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) closed all recreation centers and program buildings on March 17 and they remain closed in response to COVID-19. Due the continued closure of all Southwest Minneapolis recreation centers, the Southwest Service Area Master Plan public comment period has been extended to August 1.

Public comments continue to be collected online. View the draft Southwest Parks Plan and submit your comments using the links below. The plan and online survey are also posted on the project page – www.minneapolisparks.org/sw, as well as on the exteriors of all 13 recreation centers in Southwest Minneapolis. Please share the link with anyone who may be interested in the future of Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood parks.

About the Southwest Parks Plan

The Southwest Parks Plan contains updated park designs that will guide development of all Southwest Minneapolis neighborhood park properties over the next 20+ years. In addition to the park concepts, the plan also puts forward several proposed potential park spaces and search areas.

The Southwest Parks Plan was created through nearly two years of meetings, events, conversations, feedback, design and adjustment. This is the third iteration of the plan, after initial concepts debuted in February 2019 and revised concepts were shared in May 2019.

The current document represents the final recommendations of the Southwest Parks Plan Community Advisory Committee (CAC), which met 16 times over 18 months. The MPRB would like to thank the CAC for its thoughtful, impassioned dedication to the planning process.

Park Plans

Submit Comments on the Plan

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Next Steps

After the public comment period closes, the design team will again consider comments from all stakeholders and potentially make more adjustments. Final plans are typically sent to the Board of Commissioners for a public hearing and vote on the master plan’s approval. The MPRB will send notice of any public hearing via email and post to the project page at least 10 days before the hearing takes place.

Please continue to share your thoughts on the park plans in these final stages of public comment. Once adopted, the final park designs will be used to build improvements funded by the 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan, which dedicates $11 million annually over 20 years (2017-2036) to revitalize Minneapolis neighborhood parks.

This project does not include recreation centers or areas classified as regional parkland, which include: Bde Maka Ska Park, Beard’s Plaisance, Brownie Park, Cedar Lake Park, Cedar Lake Regional Trail, Kenilworth Regional Trail, Lake Harriet Park, Lake of the Isles Park, Lyndale Park, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Minnehaha Parkway Regional Trail, Morrison Park (home of Minneapolis Institute of Art), Roberts Bird Sanctuary, Soo Line Community Garden and William Berry Park.

The one exception is the Loon Lake Trolley Path. The plan for that park space will be amended into the Bde Maka Ska-Harriet Master Plan. Many Southwest Minneapolis regional park spaces already have long-term plans as part of the Bde Maka Ska-Harriet Master Plan, which was approved by MPRB Commissioners on May 3, 2017.