Does Pershing Park Need A Climbing Wall?

Does Pershing Park need a climbing wall? Or, for that matter, would Windom Park be enhanced with a zip line? What about a water slide at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park?

According to MinnPost, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is launching a two-year study of how it should improve the city's public recreation options in the face of competition from suburbs like St. Louis Park, whose rec center boasts a water park, banquet halls, and a host of other amenities.

“If my child wants a certain kind of water experience, it’s not the end of the world if I cross over to St. Louis Park to get that experience,” Council Member Cam Gordon (Ward 2) told MinnPost.

In some ways, it seems to be an issue of quality over quantity—Minneapolis has 67 neighborhood rec centers (some of which will be partially shuttered under a new proposal ), while many suburbs only have one or two big ones. 

Read more at MinnPost about why parks Superintendent Jayne Miller described the city's systems as "antiquated."