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News Conference on August 24, 2018 at 10:00 am

Mayor Larson and Community Partners to unveil Imagine Canal Park Wayfinding for

Make Canal Park Pop events

Location: Canal Park Drive and Buchanan Street at the Lakewalk Trail Entrance  

[Duluth, MN] - Mayor Emily Larson, City officials, community partners will be unveiling new signage as part of the Make Canal Park Pop initiative. The City of Duluth and its community partners are planning to activate and energize the Lighthouse Parking Lot, located at 504 Canal Park Drive, into an interactive and fun “pop up” community park space for two weeks in September as well as a pedestrian plaza on Buchanan Street for the month of September. Striping and parking lane changes are taking place on South Lake Avenue this week to prepare for traffic rerouting and the planned temporary closures of Buchanan Street and the Lighthouse Parking Lot.  

Mayor Larson and partners will gather on Friday, August 24, 2018 at 10:00 am to unveil new wayfinding signage that will help direct the public to the newly created Imagine Canal Park community spaces in Canal Park and other attractions. An official kick off event is also planned for September 7 in the Lighthouse Lot with fun activities provided free for families and individuals courtesy of community partners.

As part of the City’s Imagine Duluth 2035 comprehensive plan update, Imagine Canal Park was designed to reshape the Canal Park neighborhood’s accessibility and attractiveness to residents and visitors regardless of background, ability, or income. The city won a Knight Cities Challenge grant of over $200,000 to implement the project, which will end in December 2018.

Imagine Canal Park initiatives have been made possible through significant stakeholder participation. Since the project’s launch in September 2017, the City has worked closely with the 8 80 Cities and local partners including the Canal Park Business Association, the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Zeitgeist Center for Arts &Community, Visit Duluth, the Greater Downtown Council, and the Dewitt-Seitz Merchants Group. To learn more about Imagine Canal Park, go to http://www.imagineduluth.com/canalpark2/

About

Imagine Canal Park’s mission is to determine the best activities, programming, and common pedestrian oriented gathering spaces that bring residents together from different backgrounds and socioeconomic levels, creating opportunities that grow social capital and build connections to our Lake and each other. Imagine Canal Park is funded through the Knight Cities Challenge. The Knight Cities Challenge, an initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, seeks ideas that help make cities more vibrant places to live and work, focusing on three drivers of city success: keeping and attracting talent, expanding opportunity, and creating a culture of civic engagement.

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