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• Be reasonably, feasibly, and safely accommodated without detriment to existing uses as <br />determined through master plans or through policy board decisions of regional park <br />implementing agencies. <br />• Protect the environment/ecology of the site and not negatively impact its natural resources. <br />Based on the criteria above, activities that should be accommodated in the Regional Parks System <br />include: <br />Boating Horseback riding <br />Bicycling Nature appreciation <br />Camping Picnicking <br />Cultural or historical interpretation Ski - touring <br />Fishing Snowmobiling (in some cases) <br />Hiking /walking /trail running Swimming <br />This list does not include unique activities such as those offered by the Como Park Zoo and Marjorie <br />McNeely Conservatory, because these two facilities are, by law, to be included in the Regional Parks <br />System as Special Recreation Features. <br />The regional activities selected require large tracts of land, or land endowed with unique natural <br />resources, or both. The land needs are easier to meet at the regional level than at the municipal level <br />and the associated activities are more likely to be developed or provided at a regional level than by <br />cities and townships. <br />When it was established in the 1970s, the Regional Parks System included several existing parks that <br />had activities not currently considered appropriate for inclusion in the regional system. Many of these <br />activities continue to operate legitimately today, such as ball diamonds and tennis courts, but they are <br />not eligible for regional funding for improvement or expansion. <br />Land is acquired for the Regional Parks System with the intent that it may eventually be developed in a <br />way that provides for the recreational activities listed above. Adherence to this basic list of activities has <br />served the regional system well over the last 40 years and has helped to fend off efforts to acquire and <br />develop Regional Parks System lands for other ventures. <br />Regional park agencies should consider various factors when determining whether other uses, <br />described below, should be accommodated in regional parks and trails and included in regional park or <br />trail master plans. <br />• inline skating. This activity requires a treadway wider than eight feet if pedestrian, bicycling and <br />inline skaters are on the same treadway and going in two directions. inline skating also requires <br />a smoother /harder surface than bicycling and pedestrian uses. inline skating is more popular on <br />flat- terrain trails, such as abandoned railroads, than on hilly terrain trails going cross - country. <br />inline skating seems to be more popular on looped park trails than on long- distance regional <br />trails. However, skaters will go out and back on linear trails at a distance that meets their <br />physical conditioning. inline skating can be added as a primary use on a regional trail if the trail <br />