Bruce Vento Regional Trail Extension – Whitaker Street to County Road J

Phase 2 design project

Additional planning and design are underway for the last section of regional trail from Whitaker Street and County Road J in the cities of White Bear Lake and White Bear Township. Currently, the existing planned regional trail alignment is in an active railway corridor and will not accommodate a regional trail.

Ramsey County Parks & Recreation initiated a planning study from 2018–2020 to refine alternative alignment corridors out of the rail right-of-way. This process investigated several trail corridors north of Highway 96 to County Road J. In early 2020, a preferred trail alignment corridor was selected as a result of a public engagement process from September 2018–2020.

Preferred corridor

A preferred regional trail corridor was selected following Bald Eagle Avenue, Bald Eagle Boulevard, Taylor Avenue and Hugo Road to County Road J. An alternate alignment was also selected with potential utilization of the White Bear High School property, Division Street and Park Avenue to Hugo Road. The alternate route was presented as a secondary option dependent on outcomes from design scenarios on Bald Eagle Boulevard.

In February 2021, another planning and design project was initiated to study the preferred regional trail alignment further and develop a schematic/preliminary design plan for the section of trail between Whitaker Street and County Road J. This project will integrate a regional trail extension within an urban corridor of varied road types utilizing the preferred trail route.

Read the Preliminary Design Report

Frequently asked questions 

Project goals

• Basis for final design and construction documents and future grant requests from Whitaker Street to County Road J.
• To facilitate public involvement with meaningful engagement to obtain feedback representative of the population living within the project corridor for regional trail improvements.
• Provide high quality community spaces that promote an enriched culture for all people, all ages and all abilities.
• To provide a regional trail facility, amenities, and site components that complement the natural resource base and incorporate sustainability and green infrastructure for long-term resiliency.
• Provide connections to other local and regional trail/park systems.

Next steps

• Initial Design – Fall 2022.
  • Schematic design.
  • Preliminary plan 20% (design level).
  • Cost estimate.
• Community engagement process.
  • Initial design phase community engagement is complete.
  • Agency engagement with White Bear Lake and White Bear Township Winter 2022-early Spring 2023.
• Preliminary design report.
  • As an outcome of the initial design phase, a Preliminary Design Report was prepared.
• Next design phase
  • Phase II design project will begin late spring/early summer 2023 and is estimated to be completed by the end of 2025. 
  • This project will include several rounds of engagement, design advancement and preliminary and final design.

Community engagement