Agenda - Council - 05/14/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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OFFICIAL ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Mississippi National River and Recreation Area 111 Kellogg Boulevard East, Suite 105 Saint Paul, MN 55101 NO HARD COPY TO FOLLOW February 13, 2012 Mr. Mark Riverblood, Parks Supervisor City of Ramsey 7550 Sunwood Drive NW Ramsey, MN 55303 Dear Mr. Riverblood, This letter is to express our support and enthusiasm for the City of Ramsey's Transit Orientated Development funding request for the `Mississippi Skyway' pedestrian overpass project. This project is within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS), a unit of the National Park System and along the 3,000-mile Mississippi River National Millennium Trail (MRT). Since 1996, the National Park Service, through its Trails and Open Space Partnership (TOSP), has been working with the City of Ramsey and over 50 agencies and organizations to complete a continuous trail and open space, and now transportation system, along the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities metro area. The proposed project has been considered a key element of the MRT, especially with its connection to Northstar Commuter Rail Station, and as such, is a high priority of the TOSP. The MRT passes through the Twin Cities as it winds its way from the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The 72-mile segment in MISS is the first stretch to be signed in Minnesota and within a national park. Connection to, and completion of the MRT, is paramount to developing a world class recreational, economic, and transportation experience along the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities metro area. Additionally, we are in the closing stages of completing our Alternative Transportation in Parks (ATP) plan — the purpose of which is to develop a strategic program and process with which the Park Service can collaborate and advocate with TOSP agencies for Federal funding for appropriate multimodal projects within the MISS. Those projects would be those that meet some or all of the following ATP goals: