The city of Biwabik sought to redevelop a community park and expand its single-track mountain bike trails to connect to Giants Ridge Recreation Area enhancing the public spaces and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Barr partnered with the city through the initial conceptual park and trail alignment design as a first step to accomplish the city’s goals.
Barr worked with the city to provide four tasks: existing conditions assessment; city and stakeholder engagement; connector trail conceptual alignment; and development of a park concept plan. For task one, data gathering and existing conditions assessment, Barr used GIS data to generate a base map that reflected existing site conditions. This map was used to inform conversation around park and trail facilities as well as develop concepts and trail alignments.
During task two, Barr helped facilitate two working sessions for city and stakeholder engagement. During these sessions, stakeholders developed a vision for the park and trail plan, prioritized desired program elements, and provided input on possible park concepts and trail alignments.
Conceptual alignment for mountain bike connector trails, task three, took place in conjunction with tasks one and two. Informed by the existing conditions assessment and stakeholder engagement, the concept chosen includes varying levels of trail difficulty and capability for year-round use when groomed in winter.
In task four, Barr developed a park conceptual development that reflected community input and desires. Park features included a central park building, entry plaza, parking, a playground, picnic area, mountain bike trails, pump track, public art, and more. Conceptual development also included a conceptual-level cost estimate focused on refinement of preliminary park design, programming elements, and trial alignments. When implemented, this plan will serve the local community and enhance the recreational draw that the city of Biwabik and Giants Ridge Recreational area has established in the region.