The real value of Streetcar Park

By Mike Brooks

Streetcar Park has long been part of the Mahtomedi park system. A few years ago, as lore has it, a resident who lives a block or so from the park was walking through it and started pulling unsightly weeds. Others soon joined. Then the buckthorn and other invasive species were targeted. A professional landscaping plan was created to reimagine the green space to draw more people to this historically significant location along the Lake Links Trail. The trail runs through the park, rumbling across a covered bridge over Depot Creek before it reaches White Bear Lake.

With momentum building, the volunteers next approached the City of Mahtomedi. Soon after, funding and support in many forms and denominations from many people and organizations coalesced to bring amenities to the park, including picnic tables, native plantings, a kiosk, and more.

Currently, community volunteers are working to raise funds for an in-ground "natural play area" slide. It will have natural steps plus mulch and gravel areas around it to preserve the soils. The total cost for the project is approximately $4,800. As of today, the fundraising effort to make the dream a reality is just shy of that goal, thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you.

Streetcar Park is lovelier than ever. But the real beauty, the true value of this project is not what Streetcar Park has become but how it got there.

A person, some people, and then some more people decided the park wasn’t all it could be. They became a catalyst for change, and their community embraced their initiative. It’s how movements begin. It’s how communities get transformed.

Thank you to the Streetcar Park volunteers for taking something good and making it better.