A recent bulletin from the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board announced that the draft Cedar-Isles Master plan is expected to be published in January for a 45-day public comment period.
As the Park Board staff drafts this plan, their approach should be clear: the path to sustainable recreational use of our parklands is ecology first. Not to prioritize the health of our natural resources—and of animals who need these resources—is a form of climate change denial.
One case in point is pressure by a small special interest group to allow bikes in East Cedar Woods. Despite the lack of enforcement for many years of no-biking rules in these woods, the plan should prohibit bikes.
These long-neglected woods need rescue to recover and regain ecological function. The master plan must finally prioritize the removal of invasive species that are destroying this natural area, along with planting and nurturing native trees, shrubs and other vegetation. The plan must protect more land, trees and plants for pollinators, birds and other wild life struggling to survive in this important bird area. Nature is more important than any sport.
Volunteer stewards for this area strongly advocate for pedestrian-only trails in the woods, both for pedestrian safety and for ecology. Other (non-human) “users” need this space more than bikers.
Most of the proposed bike trail runs parallel to the existing Kenilworth Regional Trail that already provides easy access to the Cedar Lake Regional Trail. Nearby in this same regional park, mountain biking dominates the Brownie Lake landscape and unwisely cuts through the South Wirth Woods, including the Quaking Bog, the most ecologically sensitive area in our park system.
Farther north, an elaborate system of bike and other recreational trails through Wirth Park has hopelessly fragmented wildlife habitat there and likely driven out any remaining species of special concern whose habitat was not (but should have been) protected as those trails were built.
Minneapolis ranks as one of the best biking cities in the country, with over 100 miles of off road trails and bikeways. With existing trails and minimal built amenities, both Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles are already celebrated as accessible gathering places for very diverse visitors in the region, who flock to enjoy the natural beauty and unique characters of these lakes.
Based on extensive community engagement during the master planning process, the “preferred design concept” did not include bike trails in these woods. There is no valid reason for staff to change this decision, despite any pressure from a small special interest group determined to put their own preferences above the compelling need to protect wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
A redundant bike trail that fragments habitat would not improve equity or accessibility for park visitors. The Trust for Public Land’s 2022 Access score for Minneapolis parks is 99%, based on the percentage of the population who live within a 10-minute walk of a park with public access.
TPL’s Equity scores for Minneapolis are 99 points (out of a possible 100) based on the percentage of people of color who live within a 10-minute walk of a park with public access, and 98 based on the percentage of low-income households within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Residents in neighborhoods of color, however, have 60% less park space than those in white neighborhoods, and low-income neighborhoods have 65% less park space than those in high-income neighborhoods. To improve equity, the Park Board is rightly focused on increasing park space by acquiring land for parks in underserved neighborhoods.
Issues of equity and access also need to consider non-human animals, and the amount of acreage available to them without the disruption of human activity that fragments and diminishes habitat. And as a matter of equity, all people have a right to enjoy nature in pedestrian-only areas.
