Greenway gets going
Recreational space in Grand Forks-East Grand Forks will take shape in 2002

By David Dodds
Herald Staff Writer

1/14/02 - The vast green space along the Red River known as the Greenway will look more like a family-oriented recreation area than a ground-zero floodplain by the end of 2002.

Melanie Parvey-Biby, Greenway coordinator for Grand Forks, says throughout this year people will see the most visible signs to date that the Greenway is taking shape on both sides of the river.

In Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, crews will construct parts of the Greenway system in conjunction with new earthen levees.

Greenway developments will include work in the Community Green, Lincoln Park and Olson and Elmwood Drive areas of Grand Forks and the former Sherlock Park area in East Grand Forks.

The projects will begin at various stages throughout 2002, and many are expected to be completed by the end of the year, Parvey-Biby said.

Some of the challenges that remain, Parvey-Biby says, is developing and funding a maintenance plan for the Grand Forks side of the Greenway.

Grand Forks' Greenway is managed through a coordinated effort between the city of Grand Forks and the Grand Forks Park District.

Even though the Greenway isn't finished, a number of events already have been planned in the area this year. A Greenway Ski Day is set for Feb. 1 and 2, and an illuminating and colorful Christmas in the Park celebration is slated for December.

Recreation area

In East Grand Forks, emphasis will rest on major developments within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Red River Recreation Area.

Northwest Minnesota's newest campground will be part of it, and it should be finished and ready to accept campers by the fall of this year, according to Helen Cozzetto with the DNR.

Cozzetto said there will be a local push at the Minnesota Legislature this year to secure funding for a new visitors' center that would be located adjacent to the campground area.

In addition to all of the amenities, Parvey-Biby says, this year's Greenway developments will consist of bank stabilization techniques and the planting of many trees and native grasses.

A number of nature restoration projects also will shift into high gear this year in East Grand Forks, Cozzetto said.

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