Minneapolis Park Board votes down ADA bikeway through Soo Line Garden

After hearing for three years from dozens of gardeners opposed to the project, the Minneapolis Park Board on Wednesday night rejected a proposal to cut a bikeway through the Soo Line Community Garden in the city’s Whittier neighborhood.

The proposal by Hennepin County transportation planners “removes a central gathering place, it creates unsafe situations for children who are running back and forth between the two sections of garden that are now split,” said Park Board Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer, whose district includes the Soo Line Garden. The Park Board owns the community garden at 2845 Garfield Av.

“And it also is very unclear that Hennepin County understood our role as an elected body overseeing parkland around this project. ... I am unclear if Hennepin County would be a good partner from the track record that we have seen the last three years.”

Hennepin County officials did not present their own plan, and several Park Board commissioners expressed disappointment with a lack of communication between the two agencies leading up to the vote. The fight has been brewing ever since the county floated the project six years ago.

A twist developed Tuesday when the discovery of polluted soil shut down gardening at Soo Line for the 2024 season before it had even begun. According to a Park Board news release, the area was once occupied by railroads and grain elevators, which may have left behind the diesel range organics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the garden at levels that exceed state pollution control thresholds.

Hennepin County planners say the Soo Line Garden is the best place to build a paved trail to the Midtown Greenway bikeway within the 1.25 mile stretch between Humboldt and Stevens avenues that currently lacks ADA-compliant ramps.

The county prefers building through the garden because it is publicly owned green space without any buildings that stand in the way. Planners say the trail would reduce the plantable square footage of the garden by only 5%.

Many gardeners don’t buy it. They’ve argued that a paved trail would introduce chemicals and supplant the garden’s community gathering areas, which double as an outdoor classroom for children from Whittier Elementary School.

They also dispute the county’s estimation that most of the garden’s plantable square footage would be saved, saying that county planners improperly factored in areas not suitable for growing, such as the root-bound space beneath a mature tree and narrow strips of land between the proposed trail and an alley.

Cycling organizations have been split on the county’s proposal, with some calling for the bikeway to be built exactly where the county wants it to go and others asking planners to study a different route that doesn’t go through the garden.

The Midtown Greenway Coalition, Soo Line gardeners and several park commissioners have asked the county to seriously consider building an ADA bikeway through the opposite side of the Greenway trench from the garden, where the county owns a piece of undeveloped vacant land. County officials have been reluctant to study that property as an alternative because the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority has long set it aside for a future rail project, though no such project has ever been proposed.

Last year, Hennepin County asked to extend the project by one year in order to improve engagement with the diverse residents of Whittier, where nearly one-third speak a language other than English. But at an open house event in November, gardeners criticized the county for failing to bring translated materials for the numerous Spanish-speaking families that grow food at Soo Line.

Park Board staffers also criticized engagement efforts, citing the county’s inability to discern whether the community really wanted the bikeway as the reason why they could not recommend that park commissioners vote for or against the project.

Commissioners Shaffer, Steffanie Musich, Billy Menz, Charles Rucker, Becka Thompson, Cathy Abene and Meg Forney voted down the county’s proposal. Tom Olsen and Becky Alper abstained after unsuccessfully suggesting the board postpone the vote. No one voted for the bikeway.

Hennepin County planners must submit their final construction plans, environmental documentation and right-of-way approval to the Minnesota Department of Transportation by April 1 to maintain $1.1 million of federal funding committed to the project. It’s unclear if the project can be extended again.

Regarding the contaminants found in the garden’s soil, the Park Board is working with a consultant from Braun Intertec to define health impacts and remediation steps. Assistant Superintendent of Planning Michael Schroeder said the Park Board’s foremost concern now is to remove the contaminants. “Gardening uses remain paramount in the space,” he said.

According to a Park Board FAQ about the developing situation, diesel range organics bind strongly to soil particles and aren’t easily absorbed by plants, but polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be taken up by plant roots and leaves. “Beyond that, the [Park Board] does not know enough to determine the actual hazard,” according to the FAQ.

Musich said she was heartbroken to hear people won’t be able to garden at Soo Line this year.

“From day one, I’ve really struggled to understand why Hennepin County would be interested in disrupting one of the few places in a very busy part of town where people can find respite from city life,” she said. “I’m very heartened to hear that we’re working to find ways for people to continue that activity, even if it can’t occur in this location this year.”