ST. PAUL - Parents of young soccer players and visitors of the St. Paul Lions Soccer fields will soon have more parking space thanks to a partnership between the Town and County of St. Paul, in a project spearheaded by the St. Paul Soccer Facilities & Service Society.
With the soccer season beginning on May 1 for all age levels in St. Paul, the first couple of weeks of practices at the fields may involve a bit of construction as crews hurry to wrap up the parking lot project, located southeast of Reunion Station.
A request was put before Town of St. Paul council by the soccer facilities society during the April 24 council meeting. Issues around a lack of parking during large events have caused people to park outside the facility, and along the Iron Horse Trail, which is not allowed.
The society requested construction of the parking lot “in order to accommodate increased traffic due to membership and hosted events. It is important to note that this space is intended to alleviate the concerns of vehicles wrongfully parking along the Iron Horse Trail as overflow,” said Town of St. Paul CAO Steven Jeffery.
A map was also presented to council, showing the approximate location of the parking lot.
Jeffery said the request was timely, but outside the scope of what the Town of St. Paul could do on its own. Therefore, he recommended approaching the County of St. Paul to help with the project.
"We have reached out to the County to see if they would be interested in performing this project collaboratively,” said Jeffery.
“It is anticipated that the total project cost will be approximately $60,000,” said Jeffery, noting that the Town would be invoicing the St. Paul Soccer Facilities & Service Society for its work, and the County would be invoicing the society for its portion of work.
While there were some concerns expressed about the proximity of the new parking lot to the playground that exists, council approved administration moving ahead with working collaboratively with the County and the Society on the project.
The area is the most “underutilized” space in the area, noted Jeffery.
By Wednesday, piles of dirt were already visible as crews worked to remove topsoil. On Thursday afternoon, several workers and heavy machinery were on site as the project moved forward.
County approves project
The item was also put before County of St. Paul council during its April 25 public works meeting.
CAO Sheila Kitz said that if the County proceeds with the project, construction will need to happen right away, so construction crews aren’t held up on other work.
Coun. Dale Hedrick asked if doing the project would put the County behind with other projects, and Public Works Director Scott Jefferey stated no projects will be affected.
“You’re not taking the whole crew here,” explained Scott, adding other projects will still be moving forward, such as the construction of the Lac Bellevue boat launch for instance. He also noted it would take around 12 days to complete the parking lot project.
Coun. Ross Krekoski made a motion to approve the project.
Before voting, Hedrick suggested putting a timeline on the project due to concerns the project could affect other projects if it was delayed.
Krekoski and Coun. Maxine Fodness also shared similar concerns, with Fodness noting factors such as the weather could potentially delay the project. Coun. Darrell Younghans suggested amending the motion, to include a contingency that other County projects would not be affected.
Krekoski agreed and revised his motion. The motion passed and construction of the parking lot began on April 27.
