Transportation Hierarchy Tool

The Complete Streets Project Transportation Hierarchy Tool offers a starting point. The tool provides a baseline project hierarchy based on context, user type, and transportation characteristics. The tool is primarily for MnDOT staff who plan, design, and engineer roadway projects. It can apply at project planning, scoping, design, construction, and operations/maintenance.

Key considerations

Jurisdiction

The tool can apply to all roadway jurisdictions.

Functional classification

The tool can apply to all functional classification types. Most MnDOT routes are principal arterials and minor arterials.

Safety and user priorities

Project transportation hierarchies should consider safety and user vulnerability as a primary factor. People walking and biking are more vulnerable to injury than those operating a motor vehicle. User priorities are not the same in all context categories

Freight, transit, and maintenance and operations

These user groups have unique considerations that should be included in the modal priority discussion.

Project types

The transportation hierarchy should apply to all categories of project types. Major reconstruction projects may provide a clear opportunity to reallocate space to address the needs of all users. Preservation projects provide opportunity to address inequities, particularly for the most vulnerable users.

Design guidance

The transportation hierarchy is a starting point for project design; it is not a design tool. Staff should refer to the latest design guidance documents and allow for design flexibility.

Context Categories and Baseline Transportation Hierarchy

The tool provides a baseline transportation hierarchy based on preventing injury for the most vulnerable user groups, expected volume based on context, and precedent. The tool assigns a baseline value for each user group per context category based on a high, medium, and low scale. A rating of ‘high’ means that user group is expected in the project area and merits a high level of consideration. These ratings are a starting point, not a project-specific solution. Project-specific transportation hierarchy ratings should be calibrated in collaboration with local partners. Full guidance on applying the Hierarchy Tool is available in the Complete Streets Handbook (PDF).

Context category	Walking	Bicycling	Transit	Autos	Trucks
Urban Core	High	High	High	Low	Medium
Urban Commercial	High	Medium	High	Low	Medium
Urban Residential	High	High	Medium	Low	Low
Suburban Commercial	High	High	Medium	Low	Low
Suburban Residential	High	High	Medium	Medium	Low
Industrial	Medium	Low	Low	High	High
Rural Crossroad	High	Medium	Low	High	Low
Rural	Medium	Low	Low	High	High
Natural	High	High	Low	Medium	High

An Urban Core land use is a compact, highly developed area of mixed uses, often stacked within buildings and structures.

An Urban Commercial land use is a small to large size, highly developed area often of mixed commercial and other uses.

An Urban Residential land use is a medium to large size, highly developed residential area with local shops and parks.

A Suburban Commercial land use is a medium (to large) size, moderately developed area of shops, restaurants, entertainment, office/work, and other activities, typically with medium to large areas of parking lots.

A Suburban Residential land use is a medium to large size, lightly to moderately developed residential area, mostly of single-family (with some multi-family) housing, and occasional neighborhood parks and trails, and lakes and woodlands.

An Industrial land use is typically a medium to large size, limited, and specific-use developed area.

A Rural Crossroad land use is a small, lightly developed area at the crossing or intersection of two rural roads, typically in an unincorporated or very small community.

A Rural land use is a medium to large size, occasionally or sparsely settled area of farms and scattered forests.

A Natural land use is a sparsely settled area in a natural condition, including places like wetlands, forests, meadows/prairies, lakes, rivers, scenic areas, steep slopes, wilderness, and some historic areas.