Como Park Regional Transportation Plan

More than 3 million people visit Como Regional Park each year. For an area designed more than 100 years ago as “an outdoor haven for the area’s urban population,” visitors and those who live near the park often are frustrated by full parking lots and traffic congestion.

Throughout the summer, Kimley-Horn and Associates, a consultant that specializes in roadways and traffic, has been working with the city and Como Park residents to come up with a plan to help alleviate the problems.

District 10 residents will be able to vote on the Como Regional Park Transportation Implementation Plan at the district’s annual meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Historic Streetcar Station at Horner and Como avenues. Residents can view the final recommendations for the Como Regional Park Transportation Plan on Oct. 1 at the District 10 website, www.district10comopark.org.

Kimley-Horn presented draft recommendations to residents at a Sept. 9 meeting that about 32 residents attended. Those recommendations include:

• Provide convenient designated visitor- and shuttle-loading and unloading locations and convert the current shuttle into a circulator to serve the park’s busiest areas.
• Create more than one option to access an area to help distribute traffic on the roadways.
• Provide additional parking spaces within a 5-minute walk to the zoo, conservatory and amusement park, and implement paid parking in the most heavily used parking areas.
• Purchase or construct a permanent shuttle lot with 500 parking spaces within 2 miles of the park.
• Convert the current shuttle into a circulator to serve the busiest areas of the park.
• Create pedestrian and bicycle facilities between the bus and shuttle stops, the sidewalk and trail system, and the major attractions at the park.
• Provide a safe pedestrian and bicycle crossing at Lexington Parkway between the lake and golf course and at the Burlington Northern Sante Fe railroad tracks.
• Provide better signage about parking and traffic for vehicles and pedestrians in the park.

Public comment to help shape the plan ended Sept. 24, but Jessica Laabs of Kimley-Horn says people can still give their feedback through their District 10 representatives.