Washington County previews Battle Creek–St. Croix regional trail plan to Maplewood; council urges local outreach

Washington County planners on Feb. 23 briefed the Maplewood City Council at a workshop on a long-range plan for the Battle Creek–St. Croix River Regional Trail, an approximately 13-mile east–west corridor intended to link Maplewood, Woodbury and Afton.

Andrea Rame, a planner with Washington County Public Works, told the council a regional trail is designed to attract users across cities and counties and to connect destinations such as parks and downtowns. Rame said the county’s standard is a 10-foot paved trail with a 10-foot buffer from vehicle traffic where possible, and that an approved long-range plan is often required to qualify for certain state and Metropolitan Council grants and for operations and maintenance reimbursements. “A regional trail is distinct from other types of trail in that its purpose is to serve a regional audience,” Rame said.

Connor Schafer, senior planner for Washington County Public Works, described the project’s evaluation process: an initial broad “spaghetti at the wall” brainstorming phase of many potential alignments, followed by filtering to a set of alternatives, scoring 56 segments across the corridor against 53 performance measures tied to six project goals (safety/accessibility, equity/inclusion, implementation, connectivity, natural resources/resiliency and high‑quality trail experience), and then moving toward a route recommendation.

County staff said public engagement included pop-up events, open houses and an online survey that drew over 720 responses. Planners reported common public priorities—safe crossings, separation from vehicle traffic and opportunities to experience nature—as well as concerns about costs and impacts to private property.

Schafer summarized a pattern in scoring: segments in developed areas around Woodbury and Maplewood tended to score higher because of existing trail infrastructure, while segments east of Highway 95 in the Afton area scored lower on implementation and accessibility but offered stronger natural-resource and scenic experiences.

Council members pressed county staff for clearer, Maplewood‑specific outreach. Mayor Abrams said residents in the corridor are likely unfamiliar with the project and asked the county to provide Maplewood‑targeted materials and events so local residents can weigh in before the city is asked to endorse a recommendation. Rame acknowledged there were not specific Maplewood pop-up events on the engagement list and offered to pull Maplewood survey results; Schafer said the county can prioritize focus groups and a final open house and estimated staff would return with a formal recommendation in the summer. “We can absolutely look at that,” Schafer said when asked whether the county would reopen the survey for additional responses via Maplewood channels.

Council members also asked about outreach to diverse populations and language access. Schafer said the county’s survey tool supports automatic translation if accessed through the county’s web link and that staff tried to select engagement events likely to draw a metro‑wide audience; council members urged non‑automated translation and additional targeted outreach to ensure demographic representation.

City staff noted potential local funding that could affect project priorities. Mr. Sabol told the council Maplewood is proposing a local‑option sales tax to fund improvements at Afton Heights Park (the project’s map label “1A”) and asked the county to coordinate so scoring and prioritization can account for local investments if they proceed.

County planners outlined next steps: refine segment analyses, develop a route recommendation, hold final public engagement events and seek letters or resolutions of support from agencies as the project proceeds through local approvals, the county board and the Metropolitan Council. Staff told the council they expect to return with a recommendation in the coming months for local consideration.

The presentation closed with the county accepting questions and committing to provide Maplewood‑specific survey summaries and to coordinate outreach with Maplewood staff and communications channels.