June 22, 2011, Wednesday - Upper Riverfront Parks Development Public Meeting at MPRB

Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm

Location: Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road

Your favorite summer destination for getting your toes wet may not be the Upper Riverfront in Minneapolis, but visionary plans for river’s edge trails, recovered wetlands, boat landings, tributaries, kayak courses and yes, beaches, will soon put the Mississippi high on your to-experience list.

These, and other regional amenities designed to reconnect the community with the great river and National Park in our midst, are among those the public is asked to weigh in on during the June 22 public meeting. The Minneapolis Park Board is holding the public meeting as part of its Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MR|DI), a strategic project to develop within five years the first phase of multi-functional community-connecting parks along 5.5 miles of the Mississippi from the Stone Arch Bridge to the city’s northern border.

Landscape architecture and architecture design team, TLS/KVA, is charged with crafting the vision and will be the key presenters on June 22, as well as three other meetings scheduled that week with the MR|DI’s community-based Advisory, Technical and Steering committees. Also presenting will be Mary deLaittre, Project Manager of the MR|DI. The MR|DI’s June meetings are the last in a series of three monthly, multi-day visits by TLS/KVA that began in April and provided an opportunity for community and committee members to have in-person discussions with the design team.

In September, the MR|DI’s deLaittre and TLS/KVA will make the recommendation to the Park Board for the 30-year framework (a long-term vision for multifunctional parks development) and five year implementation plan for the Upper Riverfront, which will include specific parks sites and systems, as well as phasing and funding. Also in September, Park Board Commissioners and the Minneapolis City Council will be asked to vote on the plan. Minutes, slideshows and other materials from April and May meetings can be found at http://www.minneapolisriverfrontdevelopmentinitiative.com/ where June agendas will be posted in the days before the meetings.

Community members who are unable to attend the meeting are encouraged to participate in a proposal-specific survey that will be available beginning June 22 via www.MinneapolisRiverfrontDevelopmentInitiative.com and at Minneapolis Parks recreation centers. MR|DI is also bringing the table to the community in three ways: meeting with neighborhood, community and civic organizations at their preferred locations and meeting times, implementing a summer-long Youth Ambassador outreach program at community events and hosting an Upper Riverfront photo documentary project.