A major upgrade is in the works for a popular south Minneapolis park. Right now, the south portion of Minnehaha Falls is largely inaccessible.
"The south slope of the falls has some viewing areas, and stairways, and platforms, and retaining walls that are in disrepair and in need of restoration," explains Carol Hailstone, project manager for the Minnehaha Falls Infrastructure Repair.
Now, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is asking the public to weigh-in on three proposed repair concepts for the area.
"It really is presenting an opportunity for us to fully consider whether to replicate the existing infrastructure, or to reimagine this infrastructure," says Hailstone.
A final design will get selected later this year, which will influence when construction could begin and how long it will take.
Hailstone says there likely won't be one "lone" proposal selected.
"I don't think anyone should really look at this as, 'hey, pick one of these and that will be the concept we move forward with.' It's more, we want to know what you like about each, what you would want to see changed about each so that we can get at, you know, what people's values and preferences are so that we can develop a preferred concept," she said.
Three options for the south side of the park were presented last week by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. But the public can weigh-in through an online survey which you can find here on what they feel should be prioritized.
"We're hoping to get to a preferred concept later this year when we move into design drawings," Hailstone says about the process. "Depending on how that preferred concept ends up being designed, in terms of layout of materials, that will really again influence the funding we would need to bring to the project."
Funding for these improvements is currently through the Metropolitan Council Regional Park grants.
Minnehaha Falls is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary Dakota homeland, and has been gathering place since their arrival in the area. The name “Minnehaha Falls” comes from the Dakota words mni (water) and gaga (falling or curling).
A mix of infrastructure has been imposed on the landscape since the late 1800s. Stone-faced walls and concrete stairs and platforms that were not appropriate for underlying site conditions have been built and crumbled repeatedly throughout the park’s history. Current conditions have deteriorated to the point that a majority of the infrastructure providing access to the south side of the falls needs to be completely rebuilt.