Lakewalk Mini-Master Plan Will Focus on Safety, Infrastructure

The group Friends of the Lakewalk met Thursday to discuss ways to improve the trail

DULUTH, Minn. – The Lakewalk is one of the most used trails in Duluth, which is why the city is looking at ways to preserve and improve it.

The lakewalk  mini–master plan is in its initial inventory stage. Crews were out today looking at the existing infrastructure of the trail, noting possible areas of improvement.

Later this fall, the city’s parks department will engage with the community to determine future amenities and ways to tackle some of the lakewalk’s bigger issues due to increased traffic.

“We will be doing bike and pedestrian counts over the summer months to determine usage patterns on the lakewalk,” said Lisa Luokkala, project coordinator for Duluth Parks & Recreation. “Some other issues include an aging infrastructure. The surface is aging and we have to look at replacement.”

The group Friends of the Lakewalk met Thursday to discuss ways to improve the trail. One of the main areas they would like to see addressed is safety to lakewalk users.

“One of the things we talked to the parks department before was taking a look at what can be done to separate the bike path from the walking path,” said Susan Isernhagen, president of Friends of the Lakewalk.

The mini–master plan will also look at ways to make the lakewalk more accessible and how to best handle commercial use along the trail.