Past Projects : 2001 – 2003 : Community Parkways

The Community Parkways Project emerged in response to some seemingly simple questions. When is a parkway truly a parkway, in form, and not just in name? What gives a street the characteristics of a parkway, even if it is called something else, such as a boulevard? To build a new parkway today, what would be the essential design elements needed to make it appear and function as a typical Twin Cities parkway?

The report includes maps, measured sections, photographs, descriptions of 33 parkways in the Twin Cities area, chosen from a much longer list of 120. Based on a survey of the scale and context of these local parkways, this study identifies three essential components of the streets that truly define parkways in the Twin Cities. Parkways are greener than other roadways; parkways are public places; and parkways connect important natural features and cultural institutions.

The number and variety of parkways identified in this study was surprising. Most Twin Cities residents could identify regionally treasured examples such as the Chain of Lakes parkways or Mississippi River parkways. But a large number of lesser-known, neighborhood-scaled examples, such as Furness Parkway in Saint Paul and Wildflower Lane in Mendota Heights, were discovered in all parts of the metropolitan area. Parkways also continue to be built as our urbanized area expands, but in a strikingly different manner.

Older parkways in Minneapolis and Saint Paul tend to form a connected network of mostly residential streets for short- and medium-distance travel within the cities. This network is largely disconnected from the highway and freeway system, offering alternative travel routes through green areas at slower speeds. Natural features, recreational amenities and institutions are often tightly integrated into these older parkways, such as the water and hills of Lake Harriet Parkway, or the bike lanes, churches and colleges along Summit Avenue.

Newer parkways in the outer metropolitan area tend to stand alone, privileging their automobile function. They often serve as aesthetically pleasing collector streets that link residential or business areas to arterials, highways and freeways. Parks and trails are sometimes aligned with these collector parkways, but more frequently exist as separate systems. Fewer natural features are incorporated, although rolling terrain is often highlighted by these curving roads. Adjacent uses tend to be set back from the parkway across picturesque views, such as the office towers along Carlson Parkway.
download the report:

Download the Report:
Community Parkways (48.5 MB)

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For more information on parkways in the Twin Cities, see our fact sheets on this issue.
Twin Cities Parkways Fact Sheets

 





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