Moir Park

My memories go back to when my kids were young. The Bloomington Babysitting Co-op held the annual picnic at the shelter for years and Scout troops occasionally did events there too. Moir Park has a great disk golf course, playground, and walking trails. The park is right in the heart of Bloomington. It has the potential to be a vibrant, community gathering space for multiple user groups. It would be fantastic to add to the outdoor amenities of this park: natural surface singletrack mountain bike and trail running trails, more hiking trails, ADA accessible trails, pickleball, climbing wall, small stage for live music/theater are just a few options that come to mind. With the addition of the MN Valley State Trail in the River Bottoms, a connection from Moir to MVST, would be a vehicle-free option to travel to the cities east and south of Bloomington. Ball and stick sports are dying and the fields are not used like they used to be. Our youth are not getting outside as much either. The reason? Many of these natural places have been off limits to them, all of us, and the amenities aren't what interest people now. It we want people, young and old, engaged and caring about the environment, we need to update the amenities and let people in, instead of excluding them. My hope for the future of this park is that it will become a welcoming place and many users will be able to take advantage of the variety of amenities a community and park of this size could afford. Compton Gardens, in Bentonville AR, is a brilliant example of many user groups (mountain bikers/regular cyclists/walkers/young/old/able and non-able bodies alike, coming together and sharing space.