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3 <br />Qualifying Requirements <br />Project Description <br />The City of Falcon Heights proposes to improve an undeveloped dirt path that <br />runs between Falcon Heights' Grove Park and Lauderdale's Nature Reserve. <br />This portion of the trail is 1300 feet long. The Grove Park is a neighborhood park <br />with a playground, basketball court and skating rink. Lauderdale's Nature <br />Reserve has a small playground, picnic area and undeveloped walking trails. <br />This nature reserve is a part of Breck's Woods a high quality remnant of oak <br />savanna. This trail is one of two portions of trail that would connect Breck's <br />Woods to the future site of the Bell Museum of Natural History. This project <br />would initiate this connection by improving the western half of the trail and <br />preparing a master plan for the entire corridor. <br />Recreational Sites Connected by Sidewalk within a Quarter Mile of Proposed <br />Trail: <br />^ Les Bolstad golf course <br />^ University of Minnesota golf driving range <br />^ Gibbs Farm Museum <br />^ University of Minnesota recreational soccer fields <br />^ Tennis courts <br />^ Planned site for the new Bell Museum of Natural History <br />Goals <br />1. Connect two parks with a path that can be snow plowed for use in winter. <br />User Groups: <br />^ There is a large concentration of rental housing near the Lauderdale end <br />of the path. University of Minnesota students who live there use the <br />existing trail to walk to the Grove Park and the University campus. This <br />trail is too narrow and muddy to plow in the winter. <br />^ This path would give residents of Falcon Heights "Grove" neighborhood <br />year round access to the Lauderdale Nature Reserve. <br />^ A large senior citizen condominium is within 300 feet of the Falcon <br />Heights end of the trail. The uneven, eroded trail limits use of this <br />connection by residents of this condominium. <br />2. The new Bell Museum of Natural History is scheduled to be built on a site <br />adjacent to Grove Park.. This trail would link the Bell Museum to the Breck's <br />Woods. <br />User Groups: <br />^ Thousands of school children attend the Bell Museum each year for field <br />trips. This trail would enable them to hike to remnants of oak savanna for <br />nature observation. <br />• <br />