Planning Details
PHASE 1: VISIONING - This phase will include a thorough needs assessment and analysis of existing and projected conditions to establish baseline conditions and identify issues and challenges. This phase will occur before potential solutions are identified and will focus on understanding what is important to the community and key stakeholders.
PHASE 2: IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENT OPTIONS - After a clear understanding of the vision, goals, and key issues has been established, several improvement options will be identified and evaluated. The alternatives will be evaluated through a technical, data-driven approach and will be vetted through the public and stakeholder involvement process.
PHASE 3: RECOMMENDATIONS – In the final phase, recommendations will be identified and presented to the public and stakeholders for feedback. This provides an opportunity to discuss the improvements being proposed and demonstrate how a collaborative approach was used to identify the recommendations. This phase also includes the plan approval and adoption process.
Planning Area
The area of focus for this planning effort will be within the Helena Downtown Business Improvement District (BID). The plan will also consider connections between the broader Helena transportation system and the Downtown area.
Approach
The Downtown Helena Multimodal Plan will be completed following a three-phased approach. Public and stakeholder engagement will be conducted throughout all phases of the planning process. The phased approach helps to ensure that the planning team provides meaningful outreach opportunities, receives feedback on critical needs, properly identifies barriers and constraints early in the planning process, and develops improvements that are feasible to implement in the community. The three phases are outlined below.
Click here to see a graphic display of our planning approach.
Background
The goal of the Downtown Helena Multimodal Plan is to blend several of the City’s past plans and studies into one document that will help prioritize projects and identify areas of infrastructure potential and inadequacy. The plan will consider and complement the following plans and studies: