Group backs route near St. Paul to link Minneapolis parkways

A citizens' committee wants to fill the missing link in the Minneapolis parkway system with a route that brushes the city's border with St. Paul.

The committee this week chose that route in an attempt to bridge a gap between northeast Minneapolis and East River Road that has frustrated generations of park planners.

The recommendation to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board follows eight months of meetings. The group plans to meet once more to review its final report, expected to be presented to the Park Board in May.

"History has shown that wherever the parkway goes, economic development follows," said former park commissioner George Puzak, a member of the panel.

The 5.5 miles of parkway, plus a major new park in the east Como neighborhood, would cost an estimated $105 million. That's with the cost of land and parkway construction but without the cost of relocating businesses along the route through commercial areas along the St. Paul border.

"Those are numbers that kind of hit you like a two-by-four," said Tom Johnson, a consultant to the group. But he urged them to think about the cost as something spread over several decades.

Many lines have been sketched on maps for more than a century in an effort to fill the parkway gap, but development blocked some routes and other parkways got priority. However, a coalition of elected officials from all levels pledged last summer to find the money if a citizen committee could devise a route.

An east-west split near U of M

The parkway would split into roughly parallel sections south from there, one intended for light traffic along 29th Avenue SE. by University of Minnesota student housing and a truck route farther east running within a block of the city border. A park of 40 to 80 acres would be created between them. The two sections would rejoin before dipping under the Burlington Northern rail line, then cross a rail yard. The route then would head west along the yet-to-be-built Granary Road that is to run through the city's southeast industrial area before following 27th Avenue SE. to East River Road.

Connie Sullivan, a Como resident, argued that the easterly route would bring parkway users closer to the area's wetlands. Puzak argued for a more westerly parkway, saying creating a loop through wetlands for bikers and hikers would be less intrusive. Business representative Tony Anastasia also argued for a western route, saying cutting through the Hwy. 280 business area would cost the city jobs.

The group also backed a bike-pedestrian loop using St. Anthony Parkway and nearby Stinson and Ridgway Parkway. But that could face tough sledding from residents along Stinson who oppose a bike path there.