Title
Approving the Grand Round North Regional Trail Master Plan.
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission (Commission) is an appointed body established to advise the Mayor and City Council on long-range and city-wide matters related to the Department of Parks and Recreation; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council’s Regional Parks Policy Plan (RPPP) identifies three regional trail search corridors along the northern half of the Grand Round (to be known as Grand Round North), making that segment eligible for designation as a regional trail; and
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council requires an approved master plan conforming to the requirements of the RPPP to designate a regional trail; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Grand Round Design and Implementation Plan was adopted in 2016 following review and approval by the Commission and the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Implementation Plan contains only some of the information required by the RPPP, but also provides a greater level of design detail than would usually be included in a regional trail master plan, necessitating a Metropolitan Council-approved master plan be prepared to serve as a companion document to the Implementation Plan; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the Great River Passage Master Plan, and the Grand Round Design and Implementation Plan have identified a bicycle and pedestrian connection encircling Saint Paul as both a transportation and recreation system goal; and
WHEREAS, several segments of Grand Round North are under construction or already complete and open to the public; and
WHEREAS, designation as a regional trail will make Grand Round North eligible for regional capital funding to construct all remaining undeveloped segments and for regional operations and maintenance funding to operate all segments open to the public; and
WHEREAS, the completed trail is expected to become an important part of the City’s and the Metropolitan Council’s Region...
Click here for full text