People

Residents have expressed concerns over safe, accessible and connected walking and biking for the neighborhoods surrounding the Sauk Creek Greenway. We understand that the Sauk Creek Greenway Corridor is an important public space for the community but can also be a barrier to reaching destinations that are close. It may also feel unclear whether you can walk or bike in the space currently.

Additionally, the City heard that people were interested in improved connections from Haen Family Park into the greenway, and clear paths that do not dead-end, or leave you in people’s backyards. Maintenance access paths, as opposed to paved multi-use paths, were identified as the preferred way to both provide the City the ability to maintain portions of the corridor, as well as improve mobility and access into the greenway with the corridor plan. 

Multi-Use Paths

The West Area Plan looked at bicycle and pedestrian transportation connections, including potential connections in and across the Sauk Creek Greenway.

The West Area Plan ultimately was adopted without a North-South multi-use path through the greenway, but did include the recommendation for an East-West connection across the greenway. You can learn more on the West Area Plan project webpage.    

Following the adoption of the West Area Plan, the City investigated the potential locations for an East-West path connection through the greenway, and found it did not overlap enough with the stormwater improvements to be included in the corridor plan. You can learn more in the October 22, 2024 Public Information Meeting Presentation with Polling Results presentation slides 54-63. The findings will be documented for consideration in the future.

Off-Road Singletrack Paths 

In 2018, the Sauk Creek Greenway project was brought to the public and subsequently put on hold following the major flooding to complete watershed modeling. With the original 2018 project, the City Parks Division proposed an additional off-road trail network for mountain biking, snow shoeing, and skiing with the greenway project. These trails will not be considered with the Corridor Planning effort. Any future off road singletrack trail project will be managed by Parks and will be separate from the Sauk Creek Greenway project. You can learn more about the Parks Division’s planning project at their MadBAT project website.