The City of Hopkins wanted to enhance pedestrian access and create safer crossings on the existing corridor of Blake Road between Blake School and TH 7. WSB has hired to develop an appealing corridor for pedestrians, while consolidating and modifying the traffic access points onto Blake Road.
The City wanted to involve residents and business owners in the design-phase of the project, encouraging them to share their thoughts in various public engagement sessions. The public was able to view and vote on design options, and the top two designs were presented to the City Council for final approval. A formal open house was held upon final selection, displaying detailed renderings of the project. WSB public engagement staff, WSB engineering staff and the City of Hopkins engineering staff all participated in additional public engagement opportunities, including a park question and answer session.
WSB traffic engineers designed the project in four stages, allowing continuous traffic flow and safe passage for pedestrians throughout the entire duration of the project. A portion of Blake Road was closed to expedite the construction timeline and maintain public safety. Updates to existing public utilities, including storm sewer, watermain and sanitary sewer, and lighting were executed during the duration of the project.
With community collaboration and coordination between MnDOT, Hennepin County, Met Council and the City of Hopkins, the Blake Road Corridor was completed ahead of schedule, to both the public and the client’s satisfaction.
