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Parks & Trails to Building Community Report Prepared for the City of St. Paul’s District 5 Planning Council Prepared by: Adam Gerber, Brady Howe, John Kinny, Lucas Miller & Krista Schaefer University of Minnesota College of Natural Resources Group 3 of 4 9 December 2004 Acknowledgments Many individuals have contributed to the content of this report. We are thankful for all the insight and advice that they have contributed during the past few months. We would like to thank our families and friends for all of the support they have given us. We would also like to thank the individuals of the Payne-Phalen neighborhood who have gone above and beyond in helping us with this report. They are: Anderson, Jamel Kraus, James Farrell, Noreen Martinez, Bill Ganje, Don McMurray, Leslie Korum, Kathy Willhite, Suzann i Table of Contents Executive Summary .........................................................1 Introduction ...............................................................2 Goals ..............................................................3 Study Area/Site Characteristics ................................................3 Methods ..................................................................4 Trail Evaluation ......................................................4 Park Evaluation ......................................................5 Detailed Park Survey ..................................................5 Findings ..................................................................7 Public Opinion .......................................................7 Graffiti .............................................................7 Recreation Study in 2003 ...............................................7 Intersection Survey of Payne-Phalen trails .................................9 Trail Survey ........................................................11 Community Perception of Safety on Parks and Trails ........................12 Police Reports ......................................................13 Park Recommendations .....................................................17 Overview ..........................................................17 Maintenance ........................................................17 Perception and Reputation .............................................18 Utilization .........................................................18 Long-term Planning ..................................................19 Specific Suggestions .................................................21 Bruce Vento ........................................................21 Duluth ............................................................22 Arlington-Arkwright Park .............................................23 Wilder Playground ...................................................24 Eileen Wieda .......................................................25 Arlington Recreation Center and Park ....................................25 Sue’s Park .........................................................25 Lockwood Park .....................................................25 Phalen Lake Elementary ..............................................26 Cleveland Quality Middle School .......................................26 Swede Hollow ......................................................26 Trail Recommendations .....................................................26 Bruce Vento Regional Trail ............................................27 Maryland Avenue ....................................................27 Johnson Parkway ....................................................28 Arlington Avenue ....................................................28 Idaho Avenue .......................................................28 East Larpenteur Avenue ...............................................29 ii Facilities Along the Bruce Vento Regional Trail ............................29 Gateway State Trail ..................................................29 Phalen Park Trails ...................................................31 Recommendation Summary ............................................32 References ...............................................................33 Appendix A: Contact List ...................................................34 Appendix B: Intersection Survey .............................................35 Appendix C: Student Survey ................................................36 Appendix D: Park Evaluation ................................................37 Appendix E: Park User Survey ...............................................38 Appendix F: Park Questionnaire ..............................................39 Appendix G: Trail User Survey ..............................................40 Appendix H: District 5 Maps ................................................42 Appendix I: Park Survey Responses ...........................................45 Appendix J: Table of Park Usage .............................................52 Appendix K: Park Survey–Inventory of Amenities ...............................54 Appendix L: Park Survey–Comments, Suggestions, and Notes from Citizens ..........57 Appendix M: The 2001 Superintendent’s Report for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ....................................................60 Appendix N: Trails ........................................................61 Appendix O: Park Names ...................................................62 List of Figures Figure 1. Frequency of Trail Use .............................................11 Figure 2. Activity conducted on trails ..........................................11 Figure 3. Survey of Perception of Park Safety ...................................12 Figure 4. Survey of Safety Perception on Trails ..................................13 Figure 5. Alarms ..........................................................14 Figure 6. Aggravated Assaults in Parks of District 5 ..............................14 Figure 7. Burglary at the Parks of District 5 .....................................15 Figure 8. Citizen Assistance by Authorities .....................................15 Figure 9. Auto Theft .......................................................16 Figure 10. Disorderly Conduct in District 5 Parks ................................16 List of Tables Table 1. During the past two years, have your or family members used any of the following City of St. Paul Park System facilities .............................8 Table 2. How safe do you and household members feel using City Park System facilities ............................................................8 iii Table 3. How safe do you think City Park System facilities are? ......................8 Table 4. How do you get to the Recreation Center? ................................8 Table 5. Arlington Avenue East ...............................................9 Table 6. Idaho Avenue ......................................................9 Table 7. East Larpenteur Avenue ..............................................9 Table 8. Maryland Avenue ..................................................10 Table 9. Johnson Parkway ..................................................10 Table 10. Arlington Avenue .................................................10 Table 11. Edgerton Street ...................................................10 iv Executive Summary Payne-Phalen is a diverse neighborhood with a deep history and heritage. In September of 2004, the District 5 (D5) planning council invited students from the University of Minnesota Problem Solving course in Natural Resources to partner with the Council to identify areas within the district that could be improved and enhanced as well as develop ideas that would improve their overall use of available natural resources in this historic area of the city. To do this the group inventoried current conditions, assessed available opportunities, looked into areas of concern from community members, such as safety, education, available green space and community involvement. To achieve the goals of the community, the students attended a community meeting and documented areas that seemed to be of major concern to the community residents. The class was divided into four groups to ensure that all areas of concern were researched. The four areas were environmental education, public participation in community planning, parks and trails, and natural areas and green space. This report focuses on improving and developing the existing parks and trails in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. From September through November 2004, many surveys, observations, and interviews were conducted to determine what the needs and wants of the D5 residents were. After careful analysis of our findings we have found that the major concern of residents is safety in the parks and on the trails. The idea of safety has been found to affect many issues such as clean parks, proper lighting, safe intersections, and many more. The neighborhood is a beautiful place and with the implementation of the following recommendations, Payne-Phalen can also be a safe place for the residents of D5 to recreate in. 1 Introduction When St. Paul became the State Capital of Minnesota the city grew rapidly and in 1854 became officially incorporated as a city. In addition to serving as the capital city, St. Paul was the leading port of the Upper Mississippi. The port was located on the north side of the river in a valley where Phalen Creek and Trout Brook joined the Mississippi, near what today is Swede Hollow Park. St. Paul’s East side