Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 02/08/2018

Home

• Strengthen equitable usage of regional parks and trails by all our region's residents, such as across age, race, ethnicity, income, national origin, and ability The Regional Parks System plays a key role in providing parks and open space for the metropolitan area. But by itself, it cannot and was never intended to provide all of the metropolitan area's recreational opportunities. The Regional Parks System is one component of the greater recreation and open space system for the metropolitan area that includes local, state, and federal parks and open space areas, as well as private sector facilities. All these other facilities and services complement those of the Regional Parks System. This chapter provides an overview of the Regional Parks System and the 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan. These concepts are explored in more detail in subsequent chapters of this plan. The Regional Parks System The Regional Parks System, supported by the Council in partnership with cities, counties and special park districts, was established in 1974. At that time, the Legislature found that: "The pressure of urbanization and development threatens the most valuable remaining large recreational open spaces in the metropolitan area at the same time as the need for such areas is increased. Immediate action is therefore necessary to provide funds to acquire, preserve, protect and develop regional recreational open space for public use." (Minn. Stat. 473.302) In response to state legislation, about 31,000 acres of existing parks were designated as "regional recreation open space." The newly designated regional parks had about five million visits in 1975. Over the past 40 years, the Council has invested state and regional funds to help local park agencies develop those first designated regional parks, as well as to acquire and develop new parks and trails for the growing metropolitan population. The Regional Parks System strives to build upon the world class system of interconnected parks and natural areas first established in Minneapolis by such visionaries as Horace Cleveland and Theodore Wirth, and extend that model throughout the region. As of 2014, the Regional Parks System includes: • 54,286 acres open for public use • 54 regional parks and park reserves • Eight special recreation features, such as the zoo and conservatory at Como Regional Park • 40 regional trails, with 340 miles currently open to the public • Over 47 million visits each year • An investment of more than $658 million in state and regional dollars since inception, with an additional $163 million of state funds to partially finance operations and maintenance of the regional park system Regional parks contain significant regional natural resources such as lakeshore, wetlands, hardwood forests, native prairies and groundwater recharging areas. If you were to visit one regional park, park reserve or special recreation feature each weekend - not even counting the trails, it would take you more than a year to get to them all. It's an amazing system, one that has few rivals anywhere in the