To better understand the public’s shifting transportation needs and priorities, Hennepin County held eight stakeholder group listening sessions in 2022. County roads connect towns in the more rural areas and are major roadways of businesses and frequent use in urban and suburban areas. Therefore, a Complete Streets Policy for Hennepin County must balance these different needs in a thoughtful, cohesive way that balances flexibility for different uses with the county’s strong commitment to create roads that make its goals related to safety, climate action and disparity reduction achievable.
The policy has been updated to build upon the county’s foundation for planning, designing and maintaining Complete Streets, but also to include Green Streets. Green Streets incorporate green infrastructure elements that can reduce pollutants found in water, improve air quality and provide green elements between parks and open spaces. The county recognizes that vegetated boulevards can separate space between pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicles, which can help calm vehicle traffic and improve safety conditions on the roadway. This makes the two plan and design principles complementary for a unified policy for county roadways.
In addition, the policy has been updated to include a modal priority framework to guide transportation decisions. The modal priority framework established tiers to assess needs on a roadway, such as the safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users, while still considering the context sensitivity for people driving or hauling freight. The framework commences the planning and design process for roadway projects, and final decisions are determined based on the assessed needs of safety, accessibility, green infrastructure, engagement and context sensitivity.
These updates were approved by the Hennepin County board in October 2023.