A proposed plan for Lynnhurst Park has some residents concerned about how the park’s current usage will be impacted by proposed paths and other amenities in the Lynnhurst Park Master Plan. But funding for the park's master plan won't be available for a few years.

Updates to the park’s playground, without approving the full master plan, are being discussed by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board staff at the Lynnhurst Neighborhood Association’s annual meeting on Monday night. In the park’s master plan, the playground will be relocated. But funding for that won’t be available until at least 2027, according to Park & Recreation Board President and District 6 Commissioner Cathy Abene

“The only thing on the table is the playground,” Abene confirmed Monday morning. The board has had funds available from the City to update the playground since 2020.

Lynnhurst Master Plan concerns

Lynnhurst residents have been giving feedback on the Lynnhurst Park master plan for many years. Those in opposition of the master plan are concerned about new paths disrupting a sledding hill, the removal of trees, and the park’s wading pool being replaced by a creekside play area.

Lynnhurst resident Kris Jagers is concerned about how a proposed path and stairs will impact a popular sledding hill.

“This is where children rest or get ready for their descent,” Jagers said. “Biking isn’t just a seasonal sport anymore. Concrete steps, a bike path and a sledding hill cannot coexist in the same small area.” Some trees would need to be removed to develop the paths as well.

The master plan also calls for the removal of the park’s wading pool and the development of a natural play area at Minnehaha Creek, something that Lynnhurst resident Julie Durand calls “unwise.”

“This small tributary is often stagnant or dry,” Durand said.

The fenced in wading pool also offers a sense of safety for some parents.

“For parents with small children, the benches and fence provided a safe area that the creek will not,” Lynnhurst resident Teresa Sweeney said. “Having a creek experience is ok, however it will not be useful much of the time, will require ongoing maintenance, and does not replace or upgrade the wading pool's purpose.”

Lynnhurst residents in opposition to the master plan also see redundancy in the plan.

“There are already stairs down to the creek at Dupont Avenue, which is roughly two blocks from the sledding hill,” Lynnhurst resident Tara Sullivan said. “Why do we need another set of stairs?”

The master plan’s bike and pedestrian paths run perpendicular to 51st Street and Minnehaha Parkway.

“It is very common to see people biking on the street or on a dirt path along the creek,” Lynnhurst resident Beth Ashbrook said. “We have lived across the street for 26 years and have never heard of any accident or any complaint due to a lack of paved paths. Quite the opposite, we often hear this is a beautiful park-like setting for taking a stroll.”

The master plan's future

The park’s master plan is part of a larger Southwest Service Area Master Plan, passed by the Park & Recreation Board in November 2020. Residents in East Isles objected to master plans for The Mall and had scheduled plans delayed in May 2024.

Abene said the long-range plans for Lynnhurst Park are “beyond aspirational” and if fully implemented would cost over $50 million.

Abene said she shares the concerns residents have with the master plan.

“We don’t have to do anything about it just because it’s in the plan,” Abene said. When the long-range plans were being developed, people involved in the planning were told to “reach for the sky, dream big.”