Rosemount

Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan

Rosemount has made significant strides in improving its pedestrian and bicycle network, including adoption of a City of Rosemount Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (Master Plan). The Master Plan strives to build on existing infrastructure to create a community where choosing to bike or walk is a safe, convenient, and enjoyable transportation option for everyone. 
 
The City has been collaborating with the Dakota County Active Living Group to promote active living and policy changes that would encourage physical activities.  In the last round of comprehensive plan, the City incorporated an Active Living Plan, which included the goal of developing a bicycle and pedestrian plan to support pedestrian-oriented transportation facilities and services.

<div class='lb-heading'>Shannon Parkway Road Diet</div><div class='lb-text'>The City has redesigned Shannon Parkway to calm traffic and accommodate bike lanes. Within the existing right-of-way, the road was “slimmed down” by reducing the number of traffic lanes from four to two and adding a center median/turn lane with landscaping to define the street. </div> <div class='lb-heading'>Shannon Parkway Road Diet Before and After</div><div class='lb-text'>The figure shows the improvements to Shannon Parkway to achieve dual goals of traffic calming and better accommodating cyclists. The Pedestrian and Bike Plan identifies streets recommended for bike lanes that may have potential for reduced lane widths. </div> <div class='lb-heading'>Pedestrian Safety at Uncontrolled Crossings</div><div class='lb-text'>Besides traffic calming techniques, the City uses reflective pedestrian crossing signs to provide more safety at uncontrolled crossings.</div> <div class='lb-heading'>Rosemount Bicycle Facilities Map</div><div class='lb-text'>This map shows designated bike routes, bike parking and proposed pedestrian and bike improvements in Rosemount. </div><div class='lb-link'><a href='http://www.ci.rosemount.mn.us/index.aspx?NID=452' target='_blank'>Link: Rosemont's Pedestrian and Bike Master Plan</a></div> <div class='lb-heading'>Bicycle Racks at Front Doors of Public Facilities</div><div class='lb-text'>The City was awarded grant funds for bicycle facilities, wayfinding signs, and trails. They provided bike racks at the front door of businesses and public facilities. With the City’s Bike Rack Program, there are more than 600 bike rack spaces in Rosemount. </div> <div class='lb-heading'>Priority Projects Map</div><div class='lb-text'>The Pedestrian and Bike Plan includes priority projects to make the city’s network safer, more convenient and more enjoyable. The Plan indicates that an annual review of the updates will measure progress and successes. </div> <div class='lb-heading'>New Highway 3 Underpass - A Top Priority Safety Improvement</div><div class='lb-text'>The Pedestrian and Bike Plan’s Priority Map identified that an underpass for Highway 3 and County Road 42 was a top priority safety improvement. The new underpass, completed in fall 2013, now provides a safe connection and safe route to school. </div> <div class='lb-heading'>Safe Route to Schools</div><div class='lb-text'>A Safe Routes to School improvement that connect a nearby neighborhood to the Shannon Parkway Elementary School. There are Safe Routes to School plans for all four Rosemount public schools. </div><div class='lb-link'><a href='http://www.ci.rosemount.mn.us/index.aspx?NID=461' target='_blank'>Link: Rosemount's Safe Routes to School Plans</a></div> <div class='lb-heading'>Bike Lane and Signage</div><div class='lb-text'>Rosemount has more than 34 miles of off-street trails, nearly 20 miles of on-road local, county, and state designated bike routes and approximately 600 designated bike parking stalls.</div>
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To implement this goal, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan was developed, which includes analysis of City’s existing condition and needs, a Walk-Bike framework and future additions to the network, and also best practices, implementation strategies, and potential funding sources. 

What may help other communities?

 

Building from the Comp Plan Goals with Partnerships

The comprehensive plan’s Active Living Plan (ALP), was developed with support of a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield, and included the goal of creating a pedestrian and bike plan. The ALP evaluates the connections between the built environment and its impact on public health. It also provides goals and policies from the land use, transportation, and parks chapters to implement the active living vision. 
 
The City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan builds on the existing infrastructure, road and subdivision practices, and efforts of the City and Dakota County, with help of a State Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant.    

Creating a network for all ages, 8 to 80 

The Master Plan aims to promote daily physical activity by removing barriers and creating a network that makes walking and biking more convenient for all ages. Based on general land use patterns in the developed portion of Rosemount, the City focused on local trips, as most destinations in town are within 3 miles or less than 15 minutes by bike.  

The pedestrian and bicycle system needs were organized around being:

  • Safer- safer routes to schools and for seniors, and identification of difficult crossings

  • More Convenient- additional prioritized regional and city-wide connections

  • More Enjoyable  –  independent trail corridors, support facilities, better wayfinding,  and increased awareness

At the same time that the Master Plan was being developed, a comprehensive Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plan was also in process by the County and School District. It included recommendations to increase walking and bicycling to schools. These efforts in coordination with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan resulted in implementing additional connections to schools.  

Existing Conditions and Needs Used to Develop a System Plan 

As the Master Plan was being developed, community feedback was important in assessing existing conditions and needs. This feedback helped in evaluating the city’s existing network of 80 miles of sidewalks and trails, links to city destinations, areas that needed better crossing and safety improvements, connections for a more complete network, and ways to support an enhanced experience.   
 
The resulting Bike-Walk Framework Plan is based on main, local, and access routes, types of treatments (sidewalks, trails, and bikes) and important destinations to create a safe, connected system. Each route type is described and includes the route’s focus, types of bike and walk treatments (i.e. paved multi-use trail), wayfinding signage and support facilities, preferred street crossings, and other examples. The Bike-Walk Framework Plan includes existing routes/destinations, a Bike Facilities Map, Bike-Walk Treatment Plan with proposed walk-bike trails, bikeways, and facilities, and provides recommendations for intersection improvements and safer connections, and identifies project priorities for a more complete system.  It also includes a detailed review of destination focus areas including connections to downtown and school campus.     

Best Practices and Plan Implementation

The Master Plan includes assessment of best practices recommendations and implementation strategies to create a complete, convenient, and enjoyable walking/biking network for the community. The recommendations include complete streets policies, traffic calming, road diets to achieve dual goals of traffic calming and accommodating cyclists within existing right-of-way, safer crossings, universal design, better wayfinding, and education. 
 
Implementation strategies were set for near and long-term priority goals and included priorities for progress benchmarks following the “5 E’s” of Education, Encouragement, Evaluation, Engineering, and Enforcement.  It also includes potential funding sources, as well as samples ordinances, resolutions, and cost information.  
 
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan encourages physical activities and has been integrated into the City’s sustainability and resilient planning in promoting non-auto mobility options. The City has begun implementation, which has included bike racks in public areas, wayfinding signage, and added bike lanes. 

Awards and Recognitions

Contact the City of Rosemount


Anthony Nemcek – Planner, (651) 322-2090; [email protected]

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