Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

[RailBaronYarr]

It's spend, which includes all revenue sources. So yes, even with significant regional money and LGA that gets put toward parks, we still spend about as much per capita as some suburbs with much less impressive parks.

There's a good argument to be made for MPRB handling all neighborhood and downtown parks, with regional ones like Minnehaha, Theo, and the proposed Water Works or other big ones along the river being handled by Three Rivers or another regional system.

[David Greene]

Make Minnehaha what it was supposed to be: a state park.

MPRB has really messed up Wirth. I'm all for off-road biking, but not right goddamned next to Quaking Bog and its multitude of hiking trails!

[Nathan]

David really doesn't like anyone doing anything outside of his recreational realm near where he is doing his recreation. I hope you have a beautiful porch to grow old on friend

[David Greene]

Whatever, man. You try having a 1 1/2 year old navigate that area. It's absolutely awful. If there was grade separation I'd be fine with it.

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[alleycat]

The changes that have been made to Wirth have brought life to the park. When I moved to north, 6 years ago now, the park was very sleepy. I'd like some of that newfound energy to extend north of GVR. It's a regional park and doesn't see the same funding issues as the neighborhood parks that are actually falling behind.

The referendum is about maintenance and updating of neighborhood parks. Funders are interested in the pretty new things. State money can go towards the regional parks. If you want to stabilize and invest in the Powderhorn and Jordan Parks in the system here's your chance. It's those smaller parks that make the system rate so well on national lists. We just don't have the money to maintain them based on the current funding.

[MNdible]

I know that my tax dollars go for lots of things that I'll never use but provide a greater public good.

That said. As somebody who doesn't have kids and doesn't play organized sports, the only times I go to neighborhood parks are to vote and for the occasional neighborhood event that happens to be hosted there. Whereas I'm in the regional parks all of the time.

[Nathan]

Whatever, man. You try having a 1 1/2 year old navigate that area. It's absolutely awful. If there was grade separation I'd be fine with it.

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I'm teasing, but again lots of children grow up all over the western world in much less spacious/protective environments than we have.

[acs]

The referendum is about maintenance and updating of neighborhood parks. Funders are interested in the pretty new things. State money can go towards the regional parks. If you want to stabilize and invest in the Powderhorn and Jordan Parks in the system here's your chance. It's those smaller parks that make the system rate so well on national lists. We just don't have the money to maintain them based on the current funding.

See, that would be what a logical, well-run park board would do. That's not what is happening. The bulk of the money over the first 5 years, $43 million, will be going to implementing the "master plans" for new parks and significant upgrades to other parks. Oh, and they may mow the grass a bit more frequently or prune the trees more. It's less about Jordan and Powderhorn or the pool at Webber, this is about Waterworks, Boom island, and West Calhoun. I completely understand where you're coming from, the PB estimates that maintenance is short about $10 million a year and capital projects are short 3 million/year, and they have heard from residents across the city that they want to preserve what we've got first, but Jayne Miller and co decided to ignore that and flip the spending allocation upside down. Hmm, you know what other government agency this sounds a lot like? MNDOT.

[trigonalmayhem]

I guess my beef is partially on the maintenance side, and I know we live in a climate that's really rough on built stuff.

But my bigger issue is that when I travel to other cities, I see parks where the details are done right. We have impressive parks because some smart people had the foresight to buy key pieces of land for the public good. But the support infrastructure, the improvements, the design, the execution, the hauling the trash, the landscaping, the edging -- all of it seems mailed-in, like the staff from the bottom to the top just aren't performing like the Best Park System in America.

It's a rare day when it happens, but I agree 100% with you on this. That's the root of my frustration with the park board and they don't seem to 'get it' so I don't feel like it's going to get any better if we just hand them a giant pile of money. Even in their big grand plans they have a weird tone-deafness for how people actually use parks.

[dingo]

Make Minnehaha what it was supposed to be: a state park.

MPRB has really messed up Wirth. I'm all for off-road biking, but not right goddamned next to Quaking Bog and its multitude of hiking trails!

Disagree! We have enough hiking trails in the park system. Making Theo a destination for Mountain biking and supporting other park activities is exactly the right thing to do.

[David Greene]

Again, I am not opposed to mountain biking. I am opposed to the way they implemented it. When there are lots of bikers (as there should be!) it is not safe for pedestrians.

[Sacrelicio]

Again, I am not opposed to mountain biking. I am opposed to the way they implemented it. When there are lots of bikers (as there should be!) it is not safe for pedestrians.

What are the changes they made? I haven't ridden in a couple seasons.

[David Greene]

Again, I am not opposed to mountain biking. I am opposed to the way they implemented it. When there are lots of bikers (as there should be!) it is not safe for pedestrians.

What are the changes they made? I haven't ridden in a couple seasons.

When did the trails go in? I don't know specifically what changes were made, only my experience last summer.

As it is now, to get to Quaking Bog or any of the nearby hiking trails from the closest (most logical) parking lot, you have to cross at least two mountain bike trails, plus there are several not-clearly-marked multi-use trails. It's very difficult to tell where hikers should go and where bikers should go. But crossing those two (clearly marked) mountain biking trails takes a bit of courage when there are a lot of bikers around. They go fast. Even if I didn't have a toddler with me, I'd be a bit nervous given the poor sightlines for hikers.

[talindsay]

When did the trails go in? I don't know specifically what changes were made, only my experience last summer.

As it is now, to get to Quaking Bog or any of the nearby hiking trails from the closest (most logical) parking lot, you have to cross at least two mountain bike trails, plus there are several not-clearly-marked multi-use trails. It's very difficult to tell where hikers should go and where bikers should go. But crossing those two (clearly marked) mountain biking trails takes a bit of courage when there are a lot of bikers around. They go fast. Even if I didn't have a toddler with me, I'd be a bit nervous given the poor sightlines for hikers.

I also hate when the kids are on my lawn.

Seriously though, given the real issues of maintenance and safety that exist all over the poorly-maintained park system, it seems like complaining that a recent investment is getting lots of heavy use isn't a very good expenditure of energies. I'd put the massive frost-heave of the Cedar Lake Trail, the drinking fountains that were never turned on along the river last year, the many sections of the system where the overhead lights don't work, the lack of proper snow removal, the inability to keep pedestrian trails clear of weeds and obstructions, the faded trail markings, the poorly maintained restroom facilities, the nuisance tagging that hasn't been cleaned up, and several other things way before people using a trail that's inconvenient to another trail's use on my priorities.

[David Greene]

I also hate when the kids are on my lawn.

And this, right here, is why people hate urbanists. Way to completely dismiss another person's concerns.



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[Nick]

Gotta phase that word out

[Silophant]

Haven't had a word replacement in a while.

[grant1simons2]

Oh for crying out loud

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis- ... 373153411/

[Anondson]

Is there some unreported squabble going on at the core of these vetoes and plans?

[mattaudio]

Yes, at least from the Facebook comment threads I've been seeing that involve squabbles between park commissioners.