ST. PAUL, Minn. — The public and local officials are invited to participate in a meeting to discuss how the Mississippi River Trail bikeway should be managed in the future. The trail travels through nearly 100 communities between Lake Itasca and the Iowa border.
Nearly 70 cities, counties and agencies manage a portion of the MRT in Minnesota.
“The challenge is finding a way to effectively operate this multi-agency initiative,” said Dan Collins, MRT planner with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “One step forward is a comprehensive system of MRT signs. The goal of these meetings is find out if and how involved agencies will take on this and other operational challenges.”
Currently, trail routes may be accessed online or on printed maps, but the trail does not have consistent on-road route signage.
All meetings take place 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the following locations and dates:
Roseville – Monday, Dec. 12
MnDOT – Waters Edge
1500 W. County Road B-2
Bemidji – Tuesday, Dec. 13
Bemidji City Hall – Council Chambers
317 Fourth St. NW
St. Cloud – Thursday, Dec. 15
St. Cloud Public Library, Bremer Room
1300 W. Saint Germain St.
Winona – Monday, Dec. 19
Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, Tandeski Center
1200 Storr’s Pond Road
The MRT is a bikeway that follows the Mississippi River from its headwaters in Itasca State Park to the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of the MRT is routed on relatively low-use roads and road shoulders, and it connects several off-road trails throughout Minnesota. For more information, visit www.mndot.gov/bike/mrt.html.
