Over the last year HTPO has had the opportunity to work with Capitol Region Watershed District in collaboration with the Lower Phalen Creek Project as they pursue plans to daylight the historic path of Phalen Creek in St. Paul. Our Civil Engineering and Landscape Architecture team was tasked with providing a detailed feasibility study based on previously gathered data, community input, and in conjunction with Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plans for improvements to the Phalen Boulevard transit corridor.

Over the course of the project, we attended virtual meetings with project partners and stakeholders, conducted virtual work sessions, and held meetings to progress our study. After assessing the overlap of adjacent private property, commercial and industrial lots, and public right of ways, our team developed recommendations for buried pipe alignments, a daylighted creek channel, stormwater BMP design, locations for programmable areas and community gathering spaces, and wayfinding along the Bruce Vento Trail.

We would like to thank our primary client, Capitol Region Watershed District, as well as the Lower Phalen Creek Project, Rush Line BRT, Ramsey County, and the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District for their guidance and input as we navigated this unique scope. We look forward to the advancement of this project and its potential to support community connections to the historic landscapes and waterways of Saint Paul.

To learn more about the Lower Phalen Creek Project, Phalen Creek’s history, and ongoing daylighting efforts, visit www.lowerphalencreek.org/daylighting