Recreation and Facilities

Transcription

1 Summary of listening sessions and equity outreach Harriet- Calhoun Master Plan Several listening sessions were held with various groups between September and December of The Calhoun Harriet Master Plan & Improvements project was described by MPRB staff and discussion focused around these questions. Do you visit Calhoun-Harriet? What draws you there? Why do you think that people don t visit Lake Harriet or Lake Calhoun? What makes it hard to visit? What can the Minneapolis Parks do to attract people from your community to Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun? The listening sessions included: 9/16/2015 Courage Kenny 9/16/2015 Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities 10/7/2015 Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) Breakfast Bites 10/29/2015 NACDI Community Forum 11/4/2015 Appetite for Change 11/5/2015 Community Cooks 11/10/2015 Tamales Y Bicicletas MPRB also collected comments at the following events 9/19/2015 Made in the Shade Walk around Calhoun 9/19/2015 Matthews Park King Day comments Comments are summarized by category. Recreation and Facilities Movies at Lake Harriet and Calhoun are not for Hispanics Kayaking and Paddle are not accessible or affordable and those are not culturally relevant activities. Furthermore, to rent those they ask for Drivers licenses or ID with photo which is a barrier in our community need more culturally relevant activities like fishing More food options- other type of restaurants that offer more culturally relevant food More grills- Grills are part of our culture and we need bigger spaces because of our extended families- x2 Would like to see Zumba and dancing and outdoor classes Would like a welcoming center Shelters to use when it is raining Events like Monarch Festival

2 Parks need to have more cultural activities like music, art, multicultural events to attract interest. E.g. something about Mexican Independence Day More grills for bigger groups and extended family Bigger picnic tables or tables that can be pulled together for big groups Parents don t like how buys these lakes are- prefer more natural setting Create an event- it matters who does the outreach Hispanic/Latino bands, salsa. Partner with Latino radio stations Appetite for Change Free swimming lessons to all More cultural events Would like to see: wading pools, basketball courts, more playgrounds More activities for small children More safety x2 Looking for more culturally-specific activities Lake Calhoun has limited amenities for teens and families x2 Lake Calhoun is not family friendly. There is only one small playground. There should be a playground on each side of the lake. If the intent is to attract families, there is very limited parking and not a lot of activities. The lake for swimming seems nasty. There are no bike rentals like at Minnehaha and Lake Nokomis. There is not a very good restaurant. It may be more attractive with a Bandshell for music. A basketball court would be a good amenity Gathering spaces for large groups- BBQ grills, more restroom facilities and large picnic tables (that can seat more than 6-8 people) Native American Community Development Institute Difference between land users and water users. Inequities with the way the water is used. Boats of all kinds are expensive. Programs are resulting in these lakes being used more by the native communities. Memorial runs, regular use, la crosse. Need to get native people used to coming to the lakes. Youth have been engaged in the last seven years at Bde Maka Ska through programs. (Examples: Kwe Strong and Mde Maka Ska Canoe program with MPS) Would like more locations around the lakes for Nice Ride. Create a Nice Ride equivalent for canoes and paddleboards. Cost to rent a canoe for a couple of hours is outrageous. Involve artists in the design of park benches and site furniture. Program a day at Calhoun and Harriet for indigenous people x 2

3 Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities (MACOPD) Consider age in place how can we provide facilities for elder. Winter running is hazardous. Think about winter use with service animals: sand vs. salt. Lighting: SW side of Calhoun is very dark; luminosity is an issue, partly because the mature trees block lighting that is there. Consider lighting the pedestrian trails X 2 Courage Kenny Harriet and Calhoun are not friendly to new immigrant families. They do not offer children and parents a way to engage with each other. Many immigrant families are not even aware that the lakes exist. Suggest advertising through kiosks and signs other cultural venues close to the lakes Make the lakes more kid friendly it s too far to go completely around the lake with small children who are not in a stroller. King s Day- Matthews Park Need more permanent restrooms around the lakes Is there a way to encourage sailing for the occasional user? Buoys are too expensive. Could it be a program offering like Wilderness Inquiry? Are short term buoy rentals an option, especially at the end of the season? It is a lot of work to launch a boat and there are often empty buoys at the end of the season. I would like to rent a buoy for a weekend, so that I could sail frequently without having to re launch the boat. Add diving dock on Calhoun like Shady Oak private beach More ping pong; add giant chess plaza; less horseshoes Would like groomed ski trails on Calhoun (big loop) Beach at 32th on east side of Calhoun: likes sand and water play options with the playground. Lines at Tin Fish are too long! It s very complicated to rent canoes when you have children with you Add more sand to the beach at 32nd (Calhoun). Keep the archery range at Wm Berry. It is a sport growing in popularity Address car break-ins

4 Interpretation and signage Parking signs need to be in other languages because our people are not aware of rules and when we have had events people have gotten tickets NACDI Access: Calhoun and Harriet are Euro-American dominated spaces. Kids of color live closer to Phillips and Peavey. It s a long bus ride to Calhoun and Harriet. Access to transportation is important. If kids don t have a way to get there, they won t come. Place the Dakota and Ojibwe presence at the lakes in stories, tours, little signs as to how the lakes are significant as a native place. A lot of foreign visitors here; history should be more apparent. Just was in Detroit Lakes White Earth: tell the native stories. History doesn t start with white settlement! Likes what everyone is saying about educating the broader community. Pre-European settlement, Dakota people lived, fished, traded around the lakes.. Dakota leader in the 1830 s, Cloudman, after a hard winter (loss of land, food supply), decided to try farming. Agricultural settlement -Heyata Otunwe. Many people don t know that history. MACOPD Tell pre-contact and post-contact stories. First peoples survey more than a marker. Interpretive center? Walkers overrun by joggers and runners at Calhoun who are sometimes not polite. It is a concern for pedestrians- suggest more signs about being more courteous. Proper signs at pinch points about behavior. King s Day- Matthews Park Add historical interpretation around the lakes; include old photos Access and circulation Transportation is an issue as well as parking Consider partnering with Metro transit for free rides, especially for cultural events Difficult for groups to travel- parking for 6 or 7 cars difficult to find- competition for parking spots Parking information in other languages- many Latinos getting parking tickets, language barrier in accessing parking pay boxes/signage Parking is a barrier Appetite for Change

5 Nothing is easy about getting there. Not everyone drives. access is hard because of parking issues and ADA accessibility Courage Kenny Trails: overall surfacing is an issue. The trails should be smoother. Provide accessible beach with mats and special water-tolerant wheelchairs for rent/use Upgrade trails and reduce distance between curb cuts on west side of Harriet x 2 More on-line information about accessibility. Study the arrival for disabled at Bandshell. Is it accessible? Increase accessible seating options- picnic tables and benches with extended concrete pads (immediately off of paths) as well as Bandshell. Benefit to people with mobility issues as well as parents with strollers. Getting to the pedestrian paths is difficult: first mounting the curb along the parkway, then crossing grass and then the bicycle trail then more grass and finally the ped trail. One way bicycle paths make it safer for pedestrians to cross them. With the speed of bikes and all the activity going on, it makes it easier to cross when the traffic is only coming from one direction. There is a lack of places to sit. How about some benches with extended concrete pads (with room for wheelchairs and a dependable accessible route to the sitting area from the paths?!? Please check to see if the order windows for concessions at Tin Fish, Bread & Pickle and Wheel Fun are accessible (at a usable height) for people in chairs. MACOPD Accessible playground somewhere around the lakes Increase number of curb cuts- so hard to access trails from that side if you are using a chair. More parking- There are only two large parking lots for regional visitors. Would like an accessible beach Trail accessibility report should be on MPRB website: for each trail describe its length, width, surfacing, elevation change, hazards, etc. There should be a universal access playground at these two lakes. King s Day- Matthews Park One way bicycle paths are a plus. It makes it safer for pedestrians to cross them. With the speed of bikes and all the activity going on, it makes it easier to cross when the traffic is only coming from one direction x 2

6 Improve getting on and off paths Paths at Calhoun are too narrow for the amount of users Paid parking is a deterrent to going there Some path areas need resurfacing. Pave the cow path on the west side of the Lake Street bridge over the channel between Calhoun and Isles. The turning radii of the exit ramps off the Midtown Greenway towards Isles, especially for kids on bicycles. Trail geometries for underpass of Lake Street bridge approach are problematic. Extend the trolley line north to Tin Fish, using parkway along east side of Calhoun as a shuttle between Calhoun and Harriet. NACDI Natural Resources Water quality is critical and in these lakes has deteriorated. You should be able to see the bottom of the lake without looking at beer cans. Parents give their children bread to feed the ducks next to the Feeding the Waterfowl Fouls the Water signs. An ideal thing would be to link the technical quality of the lakes to native history of the area. How could the native community be involved and lead conservation efforts/model to the broader community as a priority connected to their culture/community. Grew up near Lake Harriet. Would walk, visit Rose Gardens, relax and unwind, enjoy views, grandkids use playground near the bandshell. Would like it protected and kept the way it is. Also likes the wetlands and natural areas with restoration of wild areas. Restoration of indigenous plants with signs: tells a history and would use indigenous language. Appetite for Change Canoeing at the lake and the fish were dead in the water. If they water would be cleaner, then it may be a lake to go to. King s Day- Matthew s Park Calhoun water quality and weed beds are yucky. Water feels greasy. Wouldn t swim there x 3 Ban herbicides and fertilizer use in parks to improve lake quality! Belonging and inclusion

7 I used to be there when I was little, and I remember other people being weird when we tried to play music I used to live around the Lake but it has changed a lot lately. I used to skate or walk with my dog. Now I go to Nokomis that has more people of color Most people at these parks are white, which is intimidating for our families At Calhoun and Harriet you can t be yourself because of the many whites, and MN are cold people who do not understand us My dad is very picky and if police shows up because of noise he will not go back Our families have fear to be there Cultural differences are real Need more intentional outreach to communities of color. Access to information is difficult. Whiteness is a barrier. Being loud is frowned upon- feel more comfortable at other parks Feels controlled and watched Appetite for Change Police always messing with us and there is a lot of racism. White people aren t bothered by police when they go there. People of color are considered loitering if just hanging out at the park Feeling like we can t go BBQ and chill out, or walk around the lake because white people are trying to take ownership of the city. There is a lot of racism and we feel like we don t belong over there. When you are there you feel discriminated against and you get harassed and messed with. Racism and white people not trying to make black people feel welcome or to feel equal and to belong. It s made for white people, not made for black people. White people feel like they own these spaces, and nothing is made for black people to feel like they have ownership over anything. NACDI Name Change Doesn t like dual names-would prefer full name restoration. Some think it s a good first step but more action needed. Board motion to change the name did not pass. Motion did pass that added Bde Maka Ska under the Lake Calhoun names. MPRB clarified: 9/2/15 Board meeting, MPRB s legal council reported on the process to change the name. Motions came from the commissioners themselves and were not vetted through a community process. Folks are interested in restoring the native name. Calhoun was not a good man and his policies and actions hurt native peoples.

8 Mentioned the ease of changing a dormitory name on Colorado campus. Thought the name of Calhoun was another example of white supremacy and perpetuating the myth that white people are heroes. Native names help me know where I am. A space to honor native traditions. Calhoun never came here; he established Fort Snelling, a place of great suffering for the Dakota. Creating a space for history. Native land was taken away; it s not ancient history it s still happening. Gentrification (pushing the blacks and browns to the suburbs). Call it name restoration versus name changing. Euro-Americans are visitors; this is our land and history. There are legal obstacles because of how long the lake has been named Calhoun. How about involvement of native communities in improving the lakes. Restoration of name, not name change