Final Progress Advisory Panel Report - Knight Program in ...

form through development of small area plans or district regulating plan(s)). Also important for the 2016
update is the development of the unified transportation and land use comprehensive plan specified earlier in
these recommendations. The plan must be strongly tied to the context- and form-based districts and MPO
policies supporting pedestrian-friendly planning in the Compact Urban Area. Specific actions are to:
• Emphasize, map, and establish the context area as three separate and unique community types within the
code. The combined three areas would be known as the Compact Urban Area, a subpart of the Urbanized
Area (a designation in the functional classification system used for all thoroughfare and transportation
design for the city).
• Develop language to incorporate the new Compact Urban Area in the street and highway functional classification
policies.
Once that process is completed, the Duluth City Council, MPO, and other partners such as hospitals and universities
should pass resolutions in full support and recognition of the combined context designations as the
Compact Urban Area. Finally, the form-based code could include examples of unique and appropriate walking-friendly
thoroughfare sections for each of the three community types within the Compact Urban Area.
As noted earlier, the procedure would bring together land use and transportation in a legal framework within
the form-based code. Urban development patterns undertaken by public and private entities (city, university,
hospital) would have full knowledge of the positive design style and essential elements necessary to create
great walkability, bikeability, and transit-friendly design within each Context Urban Area. The context-sensitive
form-based districts could be coordinated with planning at the city and MPO levels. All thoroughfares planned
within the Compact Urban Area would be pedestrian-focused as opposed to the more suburban area planning
focused on motor vehicles.
Transit: As part of moving ahead with creating the high quality circulator route described earlier in the Duluth
Creative Corridor recommendations, look at rebranding the Duluth Transit Authority to appeal to urban living
target markets. That could include its vehicles, bus stops, website, and marketing materials. Reexamining the
proposed Downtown Multi-Modal Transportation Terminal is also important and should include a stronger
analysis of potential users and how the center can be integrated into the downtown fabric and designed to help
activate the streetscape.
The 6th Street Road Redesign: The Sixth Avenue East Schematic
Re-Design Study Report, reviewed by the Progress Advisory Panel,
was completed on February 1, 2011. It describes an excellent effort
of synthesizing input from multiple stakeholders for the redesign
of an urban thoroughfare. Concerns about walkability, stormwater
treatment, vehicular traffic flow, and overall safety are well documented
and effectively addressed in the recommended solutions.
All participants in the study should be commended for the high
quality of analysis and conclusions in the report. (The participants
included the City of Duluth Community Development Depart-
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