Met Council invites public feedback on regional park proposals

Twin Cities residents can now provide feedback on an updated long-term plan for regional parks that includes several new trails and a park.

The Metropolitan Council is asking the public to weigh in on a recently released draft copy of the 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan until September. The council will revise and release the final plan later this year.

The plan will guide the Met Council's vision for regional parks in the seven-county metro area for the next 22 years. It's part of Thrive MSP 2040, the council's long-term planning program, which also includes directives for housing, transportation and water resources.

The update from the 2015 plan includes a new regional park at the Three Rivers Park District and 11 new regional trails.

"Parks are the cornerstone of community," said Council Chair Alene Tchourumoff. "They lend insights into who we are and what we value; places where we come together as family, friends and neighbors to recreate and celebrate, or escape to experience the quiet and tranquillity of our treasured natural environment."

The metro area's regional park system is a network of more than 50 recreational spaces that includes Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Bunker Hills Regional Park in Coon Rapids and Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan and Apple Valley. It also includes more than 380 miles of regional trails and draws more than 58 million annual visits.