Hastings Area Roadway System Study - Dakota County
To accommodate existing and anticipated future traffic, Dakota County and the City of Hastings, together with representatives from two townships, Metropolitan Council, and Mn/DOT, partnered together to develop a long-term vision of collector and arterial roadways in the potential growth areas south and west of the city that would provide for the future development of a safe and efficient system of roadways in the Hastings area. The three specifically study goals were that the system vision be technically feasible, economically viable, and environmentally compatible.
The study included a review of current traffic challenges, previous study findings and assumptions, and a scan of known environmental and cultural resources. It also included a subcomponent relating to evaluating operational, land use, and environmental challenges associated with a potential expansion of an existing county highway. These findings together were used to develop six roadway network alternatives.
Evaluation criteria was developed and used to objectively evaluate the tradeoffs between the alternatives based on their ability to achieve the study goals and objectives. The Metropolitan Council's travel demand model was used to identify regional travel patterns. These findings were essential in building public and decision maker understanding of current travel patterns and future changes in travel patterns under different alternatives. In addition to evaluating regional travel needs, this study used to backbone of the regional transportation system to develop the need for city collector roads to support local trips and land access.
Stakeholders were engaged throughout the study to understand existing and anticipated future roadway system problems, provide insight on known environmental and cultural resources, and gain consensus on the study conclusions. Outreach efforts included meetings with city and township staff and elected officials, open house meetings, and use of a study website. The identified Preferred Roadway Network alternative was a hybrid of two alternatives studied and will form a solid foundation to achieve the system vision through development driven initiatives.