Stillwater pedestrian plaza plans on view

Planning for a major pedestrian walkway project in downtown Stillwater will step forward Monday night when the city solicits public comment on several concepts.

"This is a community park and we want to hear from all corners of the city," said City Planner Mike Pogge.

The open house at 7 p.m. at City Hall will explore potential major changes to North Lowell Park and a related pedestrian plaza intended to better link Stillwater's downtown with its riverfront.

The plaza would cross Main Street, busy with traffic, but other portions could include information kiosks, pergolas, a human chessboard, a water fountain, limestone outcroppings, bike racks and a concert area. A restroom building -- a critical need in Lowell Park -- would be built where the plaza meets the park.

The plaza would run perpendicular to the St. Croix River, leading to the city's new parking garage next to the Lowell Inn on 2nd Street. The walkways would link to trails on the north and south ends of Stillwater.

The north end of Lowell Park lacks amenities found in the older south end, built a century ago. Elmore Lowell, who owned Stillwater's Sawyer House hotel and later built the Lowell Inn, led a campaign beginning in 1916 to transform the city riverfront into a formal park.

But north of the Stillwater lift bridge, the park is a much different place. The city's annual Lumberjack Days festival has found a home on the long grassy expanse, devoid of trees, but the pedestrian walk along the river often is submerged when the river rises.

The plaza project would include a walking trail that would lead north to a new Brown's Creek walking and cycling trail on the route once taken by the Minnesota Zephyr train. Eventually that trail would have even wider reach, connecting with the Gateway Trail that runs through Grant and Oakdale into St. Paul. A trail also could lead south from Stillwater.

"Wouldn't it be great if someday you could get from St. Paul to Stillwater down to Hastings and back to St. Paul?" Pogge said. "That would be quite a connection."

One of the bigger challenges of the proposed plaza is navigating Commercial Street, where delivery trucks often stop. Another is providing "visual clues" to drivers on Main Street that they're approaching a major pedestrian crossing, Pogge said.

"We recognize that it's a state highway and it's definitely difficult to cross," he said.

Information about the project, including proposed designs, will be available at the open house. Representatives from the design team headed by Sanders Wacker Bergly of St. Paul will attend the open house to answer questions, as will city staff.

The city held the last open house in October. The next one, in May or June, will show a single design. Construction is expected to begin this fall.