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<br /> <br /> <br />The Minnesota Transfer Railroad is and will continue to be an important feature of the City of New <br />Brighton. However, not all of the existing railroad system will need to be operable in the future, in <br />particular that area lying north of the CP Railroad track. This rail line has relatively little service on it <br />currently and unless rail dependent industrial development occurs on the Arsenal property or the line is <br />used for commuter rail, there may be no need for it to function as a rail line in the future. It is the City’s <br />vision that the rail line ultimately be converted to a transit way and/or trail. <br /> <br /> <br />Create places for the community to gather and interact <br /> <br />If a city is to become a community it must consciously create places for people to gather and interact. If <br />there is no place to interact, no place to gather, there is no sense of community or shared interest. <br />Community gathering places are those where people come together to work, shop, and play; where they <br />are seen and can be seen, where they interact and enjoy the sense that they are part of a social and civic <br />place. <br /> <br /> <br />Create neighborhood activity centers <br /> <br />During the course of the process, and in particular, during Neighborhood Night, it became evident that <br />parks are the City’s primary neighborhood activity centers and those parts of the urban fabric that people <br />most identify with. Neighborhood activity centers tend mostly to focus on the city’s parks and are places <br />to play, interact, and meet with neighbors. These are not, however, intended to be exclusively recreation <br />facilities. These centers are intended to serve all members of the community no matter their socio- <br />economic or housing status. These are places that serve the needs of all residents, helping them be active <br />and healthy members of the community rather than disenfranchised by it. <br /> <br /> <br />Create a sense of place and the “feeling” of community <br /> <br />City Center. Not much evidence remains of the rich history that was New Brighton. Originally, however, <br />what is now the confluence of two major freeways was historic downtown New Brighton which served a <br />much larger geographic area than the City of New Brighton. Front Street was main street and the City has <br />been able to rebuild some of its original downtown character by creating a main street character along Old <br />Highway 8. A major element of the City’s vision is the expansion of the old downtown or what this plan <br />refers to as the “City Center”, to areas north of I-694 and to reestablish this area as a center for an area <br />much larger than the City of New Brighton. <br /> <br />Mainstreet. The City has already begun to develop a main street character along Old Highway 8 in the <br />vicinity of the City Center. Main street is an important part of the City’s vision and a concept that is <br />intended to be extended all the way from Highway 96 on the north to County Road E on the south. This <br />is a concept that is intended to create a pedestrian street environment that encourages people to walk and <br />interact as well as drive. It is a concept that makes buildings and people the focus of the district, not <br />automobiles; a concept that sets buildings nearer the street and parking at the rear or the side thereof. <br />This represents the reestablishment of the historical development patterns that represented the beginnings <br />of New Brighton and its downtown. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />2-2