Connect the Park will create a comprehensive citywide system of bikeways, sidewalks and trails. The purpose of this implementation plan is to make it easier for people to move around the city and region without a single-occupancy vehicle. It builds on existing council policies and plans to set a course for the implementation of the non-motorized transportation system for the community. The goals of Connect the Park are:

Goal 1: Make progress toward cleaner air, less traffic and noise, and more livable neighborhoods by providing convenient and safe ways to use low-carbon and no-carbon travel methods.*

Strategies:

• Consider pedestrians, bicyclists and transit first, then vehicles, when designing projects.
• Build a complete system of pedestrian and bicycle routes throughout the city to connect users to common destinations.+
• Remove or reduce barriers to using the pedestrian and bicycle system.
• Install directional signs throughout the city so pedestrians and bicyclists can easily find their way to common destinations.
• Make low-carbon and no-carbon travel methods an easy option to access public transit and as an alternative to shorter vehicle trips.

* Includes walking, rolling, biking, mobility sharing and public transit such as buses and light rail.

+ Common destinations include schools, parks, businesses, gathering locations and public transit.

Goal 2: Contribute to equitable outcomes for all people

Strategies:

• Provide access for all residents to pedestrian and bicycle connections to common destinations.
• Design the system to be user-friendly for all ages and abilities.
• Be mindful of racial inequities in the existing pedestrian and bicycle system and work to address those inequities when designing projects.

Goal 3: Improve overall health and wellbeing of the community

Strategies:

• Reduce the fatalities and serious injuries resulting from vehicle crashes on city streets.
• Build a system that allows everyone to feel safe and accepted in every area of the city.
• Create a system that allows everyone the option to use physical activity safely to reach common destinations and to connect with nature.

As part of Vision St. Louis Park in 2007, the city worked with community members to create an Active Living: Sidewalks and Trails Plan. This plan became the basis for the Connect the Park initiative, which will work toward implementing many of the elements of the plan over the next 15 years. The purpose of the plan is to develop a comprehensive, citywide system of bikeways, sidewalks and trails that:

• Provides local and regional connectivity
• Improves safety and accessibility
• Enhances overall community livability

The city council approved the individual Connect the Park segments in 2013. Prior to approval, the city conducted extensive outreach to engage the public on why the plan was being proposed, what was included in the plan, and its physical impacts.

In 2016-2017, the city underwent an updated visioning process, Vision 3.0. This engagement process reaffirmed the community’s support for bikeways, sidewalks and trails.  

In 2018, the city council passed a Climate Action Plan with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality - having a net zero carbon footprint - by 2040. One of the seven midterm goals for the plan is to reduce vehicle emissions by a quarter by 2030. This is accomplished in part by reducing people's need to use personal vehicles. Building out a strong sidewalk, trail, and bikeway network allows people to choose forms of transportation other than their vehicle.

In 2019, the city adopted the city's Comprehensive Plan 2040 which sets policies and programs that shape what the community's vision for the city will be like in 2040. The city's main goals for the overall mobility system are to:

• Prioritize walking first, followed by bicycling and transit use, and then motor vehicle use.
• Ensure the transportation system leads to equitable outcomes for all people.
• Eliminate fatalities and serious injuries from crashes on city streets.

In 2026, Vision 4.0 brought forth an updated strategic priority of connected, safe infrastructure: safe, reliable and well-maintained infrastructure and neighborhoods that connect people and places with an emphasis on walking, biking and transit.

Detailed design of the individual bikeway, sidewalk and trail segments is completed about a year before proposed construction. There will be opportunities throughout the design process for the public to provide input on the segment being considered. The following activities are part of the design process:

• Data collection
• Data analysis and existing condition review
• Kick-off meeting with the public to discuss the project
• Preliminary design development
• Public input is gathered at follow up meetings
• Recommended design

Once a recommended design is developed for the individual segment, it is brought to the city council for consideration at a public hearing. At the meeting, staff will present the recommended design along with public input received from the neighborhood meetings. After the public hearing, the city council will vote on whether to move forward with the segment. Usually, these public hearings are in February or March of the proposed construction year. If the segment is approved, staff will prepare for construction to begin in spring.

For example, if a project is proposed for construction in 2024, the design process will begin in early 2023, with meetings in the fall and winter, followed up by city council public hearing in February or March 2024.

When possible, these bikeway, sidewalk and trail projects are scheduled to occur with street construction work. If the Connect the Park improvement is on a street scheduled for construction, the public process will occur concurrently with the public engagement for the street project design process.