Walk Bike Chaska

The City of Chaska is an active and vibrant community where people of all ages and abilities enjoy access to a safe, inviting and convenient walking and biking network throughout the entire year.

Linking parks, schools, commercial, employment, residential areas, and transit, the City's network highlights Chaska's natural assets and offers easy and comfortable connectivity to destinations throughout the community. 

Chaska continually grows the use of walking and biking through an integrated 6Es approach that combines on-the-ground improvements with engagement, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation, and equity initiatives. 

A set of "Top 10" routes and facilities were selected based on numerous factors and recommendations for priority implementation. These routes would serve as key connections to existing local and regional trails.

NOTE: Funding for the facilities and programs identified as the "Top 10" has not been secured, though it is anticipated that main source of funds will be grants from the state, federal, and county sources supplemented by a mix of City resources.

Top 10 Routes and Facilities

These initiatives are the "on-the-ground" improvements that people usually associate with walking and biking networks like

• Roads
• Sidewalks
• Bikeways
• Intersections
• End-of-trip facilities

Areas of Focus - Pedestrian Network

The goal of the following recommendations is to support the continued development of a well-connected network of sidewalks and shared-use paths providing safe and comfortable crossings and connections to everyday destinations.

• Street Crossings and Intersections
• Pedestrian Crossing Signals
• Trees and Sidewalk Furnishings
• Downtown Streets
• Sidewalks
• Walkability in Larger Sites
• Driveways
• Events and Placemaking

Area of Focus - Bicycle Network Recommendations

The recommendations for Chaska's bicycle network build on existing investments that increase access to parks, neighborhoods, and the City's downtown area.

• Treatments at Intersections and Trail Crossings
• Facility Maintenance
• Lighting of Trails and On-Road Facilities
• Bicycle Network Design
• Bicycle Parking
• Rest Areas

Area of Focus - Wayfinding

A comprehensive and user-friendly wayfinding system is a key part of successful pedestrian and bicycle networks. Wayfinding elements include signs, markings, maps, and informational kiosks. These make it easier for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders to use the City's walking and biking facilities to reach their destination.

Recommendations for wayfinding include

• Identify and highlight destinations in city system
• Print and distribute network maps
• Make route map and GIS data publicly available

Area of Focus - Maintenance

Proactive and responsive maintenance of pedestrian and bicycle assets is a major factor in developing safe, comfortable and inviting non-motorized networks that grow walking and biking.

Recommendations include

• Maintenance Budget
• Routine Maintenance (street sweeping, markings, controlling vegetation)
• Winter Maintenance (snow and ice removal)

You can view the full engineering and planning section starting at page 42 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).

These programs share information about safely accessing and using existing amenities, the rules of the road, and benefits associated with walking and biking investments. 

Education initiatives can include

• Maps
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety trainings
• Educational campaigns

Current Programs

• School District bike fleet is made available for community events and bike rides
• Chaska Chan Mountain Bike Team, open to all students 7th-12th grade
• Chaska Police Department sponsors bike helmet fitting events
• City of Chaska publishes a map of Chaska trails

Area of Focus - Communicating the City's Facilities

Growing awareness of the Chaska walking and biking network will help increase the number of people who regularly use it.

• Network Maps
• Media Campaigns
• Audiences to keep in mind - Pedestrians, Bicycle Riders, Drivers

Area of Focus - Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School is a worldwide movement to make it safe, convenient, and fun for children to walk and bike to school.

This plan recommends that the City, Eastern Carver County School District, and MnDOT partner to develop and implement a Safe Routes to School Plan for each school in the community.

You can view the full education section starting at page 77 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).

Encouragement programs inspire more people to try walking or biking through fun activities like 

• Friendly competitions
• Incentives
• Group rides
• Community-wide events

Current Programs in the City

• The annual Cycle Chaska event
• Promotion and participation in National Bike to Work Day
• Promotion of the local Tour de Tonka
• Active Older Adults (AOA) walks in the park
• ParkRun
• Stop the Clock program for City employees

Area of Focus - Community Events

• Open Streets Event: These types of events close car traffic for one day on a prominent city street and open it for people walking, biking, eating, sitting or shopping. These events bring people of all ages together to enjoy using a public space without concerns for traffic.
• Walk or Bike to Work/School Events:These events encourage people to try a different way to commute to work or school just once in the year.
• Group Rides with City Officials: Monthly group rides with Chaska City Council or other local personalities. These events can help raise the profile of biking in the community.

Area of Focus - Walk and Bike Incentive Programs

• Bicycle-Friendly Business Districts
• Citywide Walk and Bike Incentive Program

You can view the full encouragement section starting at page 82 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).

Enforcement programs focus on enforcing traffic safety laws like speed limits, parking regulations, and safe roadway behavior from all users. 

Current Programs in the City

• Speed monitoring signs along Highway 41 to discourage speeding
• Police Department has a new bike patrol, which currently includes 4 officers on bikes
• Deployment of "speed wagon," a movable speed detection sign to locations where speeding is reported as an issue
• Distributing bicycle helmets at various community events
• Community engagement efforts like handing out "tickets" for free ice cream to children wearing helmets

Areas of Focus

These are severals areas where some suggestions were identified to improve the experience for people walking and biking in Chaska. 

• System Safety
• Public Safety on Trails
• Traffic Safety
• Progressive Ticketing
• Adjusting speed limits

You can view the full enforcement section starting at page 88 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).

Evaluation measures the success of investments at achieving desired outcomes. Evaluation helps establish a baseline and track progress over time for things like

• Network safety
• Public perception
• Behavioral changes
• Modal shifts

Current Programs in the City

Currently, there are no evaluation efforts related to walking to biking taking place in Chaska.

Areas of Focus - Performance Measures

The performance measures recommended for tracking progress toward achieving the City's walking and biking vision address 4 categories:

• Safety and user comfort
• Use of facilities
• Facilities and network
• Community and municipal awareness and support

Recommended performance measures:

• Percent of residents who walk or bike to work
• Percent of students who walk or bike to other destinations
• Annual pedestrian and bicycle counts at consistent locations

Area of Focus - Measurement (Counting) Program

Pedestrian and bicycle counts help discover where walking and biking are taking place and whether a plan's implementation is successfully growing the use of non-motorized modes.

Recommendations for counting programs

• Yearly pedestrian and bicycle counts
• School counts
• Strava and streetlight data

You can view the full evaluation section starting at page 95 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).

Equity ensures that investments are distributed fairly so that residents of all neighborhoods and population groups have equitable access to high-quality facilities and programs. Equity includes intentional efforts for implementing infrastructure and programs to overcome economic, geographic, social, and physical barriers to walking and biking.

Increasing Equitable Participation and Access

Equity in transportation seeks fairness in how mobility options are distributed and made available to meet the needs of all populations in a community.

Approaches for increasing equitable access include:

• Proactively engage diverse communities
• Review the spatial distribution of planned improvements
• Diversity of perspectives for implementation of the plan

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Considerations

Addressing ADA requirements is an important part of making sure that facilities are accessible by people with physical and cognitive disabilities. 

Some key considerations for ADA compliance include:

• Sidewalks
• Crosswalks and curb ramps

Improving Access for Disparity Populations

There are locations in Chaska where people dependent on transit reside. These are households without access to a motor vehicle. There are also locations with higher proportions of low-wage workers and households and locations where entry-level jobs are available.

Connecting these locations with high-quality walking and biking facilities is one way of increasing transportation access to benefit low-wage households. These connections also lead to more equitable outcomes for residents of the City and surrounding communities.

You can view the full equity section starting at page 102 of the City of Chaska 2040 Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PDF).