ITS Deployment and Improvements in Smaller Cities: Minnesota Case Studies

Minnesota is widely known for not only its great lakes, but also for its metropolitan area including the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. With combined populations of more than 2 million residents, much focus is given to the rising congestion in these areas and transportation management. Yet there is another significant transportation story in Minnesota - that of the needs of the rural areas and smaller urban areas. Minnesota has a great deal of weather-related traffic issues, special events throughout the state, seasonal tourism, and challenges affecting roadways without traditional communications or power infrastructure. This paper will focus on several of these cities and surrounding rural areas including Duluth, St. Cloud, and Rochester Minnesota. It will look at the transportation tools used to effectively manage unique challenges. This paper will also discuss the foundational public-private partnership model, recent operations and system enhancements, related ITS planning for additional implementations, linkage with the Twin Cities transportation operations, and lessons learned. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E211395.