Project Location

West River Parkway
N 4th Ave to 13th Ave S

Project Manager

Carol HejlStone
Phone: 612-230-6454
Email: phejlstone@minneapolisparks.org

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Key Documents

Status

Current Phase: Work Suspended

Work suspended on Open Parkways Toolkit

On Aug. 3, 2022, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Commissioners passed a resolution (Resolution 2022-253) directing staff to suspend work on the Open Parkways Toolkit, while allowing continued temporary […]

About the Open Parkways Project

The Open Parkways toolkit and pilot project will enable greater flexibility, functionality, and aesthetics around changing the nature of use of parkways across Minneapolis from vehicle-centric use to active human […]

Milestones

  • March 2020 – MPRB Superintendent authorizes certain segments of Parkways to be utilized for socially distant recreation and closed to vehicular traffic during Covid 19 Pandemic.
  • April 2020 – Board of Park Commissioners extends the duration of certain segments of Parkways to be utilized for socially distant recreation and closed to vehicular traffic.
  • April 2020 – Board of Park Commissioners and Superintendent authorize additional segments of Parkways to be utilized for socially distant recreation and closed to vehicular traffic.
  • May 2020 – Board of Park Commissioners grants Superintendent authority to spend additional funding towards infrastructure to close Parkways to vehicular traffic to respond to higher than anticipated costs.
  • December 2021 – Board of Park Commissioners approves funds to study infrastructure options to more easily and effectively open parkways to active human use and prohibit vehicular use for temporary durations of time.
  • August 2022 – Board of Park Commissioners directs staff to suspend work on the Open Parkways Toolkit, while allowing continued temporary parkway closures for events two times per month as is currently practiced. These closures will utilize existing available warning signs, barricades and police support, as needed.

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Upcoming Meetings

There are no upcoming meetings scheduled at this time.

Project History

Parkways are not city right-of-way but are park land. The original, and current, intent of the parkway system design was to act as a connection between natural elements that became public parks. Parkways are more like driveways between and through park lands and have restrictions for trucks, city busses, tour busses, and other heavy vehicular use that distract from a park-like feeling. The parkway system, or Grands Rounds, has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places an example of a historic cultural landscape.

Parkways regularly temporarily close to vehicular traffic to accommodate events, programs, festivals, construction activities and other uses. Currently, these types of closures are limited to two occurrences per month, per current Park Board policy and costs for closures are typically passed along to event organizers, which can be a barrier-to-entry for all but large scale events.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent emergency orders and petitions from the public, the Superintendent, in consultation with commissioners, directed that segments of certain Minneapolis parkways and park roads be closed to vehicle traffic, thereby creating additional space for social distancing by park users. This initiative was well received by the public and the closures were extended multiple times. The longer term closure of parkways to vehicular traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic led to high levels of active use and recognition of resource-intensive nature of closing parkways to vehicular traffic. The Board of Commissioners included funds to study periodic closures of parkways to vehicular use in its 2020 budget.