Parkways and Stormwater – Investing, Protecting and Restoring

The Minneapolis park system’s 55 miles of parkways and 13 lakes are not just iconic features – they also play a critical role as infrastructure. The parkways connect parks, lakes and creeks – the “backbone” of the park system – as well as neighborhoods throughout the city. The lakes are green infrastructure that provides important quality-of-life and environmental benefits for people, plants and wildlife.

Yet for decades, dedicated funding for this infrastructure has been inadequate (for parkways) or non-existent (for stormwater management on parkland that impacts the lakes). After several years of deteriorating conditions, this infrastructure is at a critical point.

Without adequate dedicated funding, the parkways are projected to become largely unusable in about 15 years. Without dedicated funding for stormwater management on parkland, lake water quality will decline due to impacts of polluted stormwater, which will in turn impact public use of the lakes.

MPRB Commissioners approved resolutions on April 12, 2023, requesting the City of Minneapolis increase parkway funding and provide dedicated, sustainable funding to support the MPRB’s management of MPRB-owned stormwater infrastructure on park properties.

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• Updates