Messages from the Council Chair

One of my favorite things to do is to get out my bicycle and ride around the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. Pedaling along I feel freedom and joy in motion as I exercise and take in the beauty of the water, the trees, and the people I pass.

As we imagine what this region will become in 2050, I’d like to look back and thank the visionaries who, 50 years ago, created the metropolitan regional parks and trails system and gave the Met Council authority to plan and help fund the system, in partnership with 10 regional park implementing agencies.

In 1974, as the region was rapidly suburbanizing, the Minnesota Legislature had the foresight to designate 31,000 acres of existing city and county parks as part of the new regional system. It also authorized $40 million in bonds for park land acquisition and development. The Met Council’s first regional open space plan designated 12 “immediate action sites” for acquisition. Within a decade, all 12 sites were acquired.

The legislation was designed to ensure that invaluable natural resources would be preserved and that metro area residents would be able to enjoy recreational opportunities within the region’s borders even as the population grew and development spread.
 

Regional parks and trails offer play, exercise, gatherings, and more

Today, the system includes 56 parks and park reserves, 8 special recreation features, and over 450 miles of interconnected trails. These beloved parks and trails provide diverse opportunities for play, physical challenge, family and cultural gatherings, and solitude. The parks system also protects natural resources and wildlife habitats, helps address climate change, and provides health and happiness for our communities, now and into the future.

We work closely with the 10 park partner agencies who operate these wonderful places. One of our more recent initiatives is ensuring that all people feel welcome in the regional parks, regardless of age, race, gender, or ability. Our partner agencies are doing great work to expand opportunities and welcome everyone to the parks and trails.

The more than 52,000-acre system attracted 69.4 million visits last year – more than 21 visits for every person who lives in the region. We learned just how much people enjoy the regional parks and trails when they wrote thousands of love letters to the parks during the annual Ice Shanty event on Lake Harriet a few years ago.

We’re brewing up an anniversary event for this fall. Stay tuned to learn the details. I hope you will join us to celebrate one of best things about living in the Twin Cities metro area.

Charlie Zelle, Met Council Chair