Cedar Lake and Lake of Isle park plan

The plan for Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles was approved by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commissioners at its meeting on July 5, 2023.

 The Cedar-Isles Plan outlines long-term strategies to maintain and improve Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, Dean Parkway and a portion of Cedar Lake Regional Trail. Multiple drafts of the plan were created and refined based on thousands of comments received throughout more than three years of work on the plan.

 A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) comprised of people appointed by MPRB staff and commissioners met 13 times (along with seven combined meetings for two CAC Subcommittees) to vet and refine ideas incorporated in the Cedar-Isles Plan. The final plan document is based on final CAC recommendations and feedback received during a formal 45-day public comment period that ended in March.

 Three amendments to the plan were approved by MPRB Commissioners before the plan passed:

• The two-way soft surface bike trail along Northeast Cedar Lake was removed and replaced by a pedestrian trail.

• New docks for Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles were previously included in the “Water Quality” cost estimate/implementation list. This amendment removed the docks from the Water Quality section and instead lists them in the “Amenities” section.

• A sentence was added to Section 6.2, Costs and Funding: “As staff implement amenities within the Amenity and Wayfinding category, the assessment and repair of like-amenities within the plan scope will be addressed and communicated with the public.” 

The Met Council will consider approval of the plan in the next few months. The Met Council must approve regional park plans in order for parks to receive regional park funding.

A major benefit, and primary reason, for completing a park plan is that it allows the MPRB to seek or capitalize on opportunities to improve parkland. When volunteers, philanthropic organizations, or regional, state or federal funding agencies express interest in supporting the regional park system, the MPRB now has a community-vetted plan for potential partners to follow.

No immediate major changes or projects based on the Cedar-Isles Plan are currently scheduled. Smaller scale projects could be implemented within the first few years. These could include safety upgrades at critical intersections, new or repaired paths, or adding seasonal bathrooms. 

Development of the Cedar-Isles Plan was the final part of a decade-long process by the MPRB to create long-term plans for every park in the Minneapolis park system. The Cedar-Isles Plan was the last area in the Minneapolis park system that didn’t have a current long-term plan. Now every park operated by the MPRB has a long-term plan in place. Visit the Minneapolis Park Plans page to view them.

 

The Cedar Lake Channel is closed to recreational use until September 2023 to finish construction of the trail bridge that spans the channel. This will allow work in the channel to be completed this year, thus avoiding a full long-term closure next winter that was originally planned. There will be a need for brief closures in 2024, but only minimal impacts to recreational use are anticipated. The Kenilworth Lagoon is accessible from Lake of the Isles.

Water management activities continue at the Cedar Lake Channel including water pumping operations to facilitate flow from Cedar Lake to Lake of the Isles. 

The closure of Cedar Lake Parkway to advance LRT tunnel construction has been extended until Sept. 29.