SD: Have ideas on how to improve the Rapid City area's transportation? Now is the time to share them

If residents have thoughts on how the Rapid City area’s roads, paths and public transportation system could improve, the Rapid City Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is open to input.

The area plan encompasses a boundary around Piedmont, Summerset, Blackhawk, Rapid City and Box Elder. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan extends to 2050. The MPO is required to update the plan every five years, and 2025 is an update year.

The new plan is based on data from 2022, and the MPO is also in the process of gathering public input. On Thursday night the MPO — in conjunction with state and federal agencies and local municipalities — hosted an open house at City Hall in Rapid City.

The open house featured an approximately 10-minute video about the study and a room with poster boards and staff present to answer questions. Comment cards were also handed out to attendees.

Some of the key findings from the study, based on 2022 data, probably come as no surprise to most Rapid Citians who navigate the city in their day-to-day lives. The most congested areas are West Main Street to Jackson Boulevard, Omaha Street at the west end of the gap, East North Street east of Cambell Street, Anamosa Street between North Maple Street and North Lacrosse, and Eglin Street, the corridor leading to the Rushmore Crossing shopping area.

E Anamosa and N Lacrosse Streets

Traffic moves through the intersection of East Anamosa and North Lacrosse Streets on Friday afternoon. A portion of East Anamosa from the North Lacrosse intersection west to North Maple Street was identified as one of the more congested portions of road in Rapid City.

Some potential solutions to congestion include added travel and turn lanes, technological solutions such as traveler information systems, and complete streets, which accommodate vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders.

Other findings extended beyond the annoyance that can come with congested roads. There were 8,000 crashes in the area between 2019 and 2023. Those resulted in 31 fatalities and 203 serious injuries.

The MPO identified several elements to the crashes, namely angle crashes, called T-bones by some — both younger and older drivers, dark conditions, vulnerable road users (demonstrated with the symbol of a pedestrian), motorcycles, alcohol and speed.

“Safety is always a huge issue for us. That’s our number one priority. At the end of the day, we want everyone to get home safely,” said Kip Harrington, Rapid City long range planning division manager and MPO project manager.

Some potential safety solutions involve intersections. The online public survey asks residents how they feel about signal intersections, roundabouts, and reduced conflict intersections.

“Roundabouts are great for traffic flow and safety, but they take up a lot of space and a lot of people don’t like them,” Harrington said.

Harrington said residents during the open house expressed desires for expansions to the public transportation system both in where it goes and the hours it operates. Rapid City’s bus system currently operates Monday through Friday from 6:20 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:50 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. It consists of six routes running on 35-minute intervals.

Although study materials mention pedestrian and bicycle routes, that portion of the plan is not set to be updated. It was last updated in 2020. Harrington said he anticipates an update in 2030.

“Road projects generally get implemented quicker, and we incorporate bike and pedestrian stuff into those when we can,” Harrington said. “It’s also very expensive. We just don’t have the funding to do it every five years.”

To view project materials and fill out a survey or submit other comments, visit rapidtrip2050.com. The survey can be found by selecting the top banner of the website titled, "Online Public Meeting Open." Comments may also be conveyed directly to Harrington at 605-394-4120 or [email protected] or Consultant Project Manager Dustin Hamilton at 605-791-6103 or [email protected].

Written comments will be accepted through Friday, April 4.

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