2017 Spencer Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Spencer, Iowa  2017  Comprehensive Plan

C HAPTER D IVERSITY Transportation systems are created with the primary goal of transporting people and goods safely and efficiently. The components that comprise the transportation element of this plan include vehicular and pedestrian movement, traffic flow, street classifications, public transit, railroad and airport facilities. Community leaders and elected officials strive to commit the necessary resources to construct, improve and maintain the many miles of city streets and infrastructure throughout the community. Spencer should continue to emphasize a balance between maintaining, rehabilitating or replacing existing streets with new construction of planned future streets in developing areas. 12 . T RANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS Location and access to major markets for the shipment of goods and services is essential to survival in the business marketplace. Spencer is centrally located in the Upper Midwest with access to interstates, rail and air service, making it a strategic base for transporting goods within the region and nationwide. On a regional level, Spencer is centrally located between Des Moines, IA (133 miles) and Minneapolis, MN (157 miles). Sioux Falls, SD is located 84 miles west. Spencer is served directly with rail and air access, along with two Iowa state highways bisecting the community. Spencer is located approximately 35 miles south of Interstate 90. To learn more about Spencer’s transportation and logistics, contact the City Office at 712-580-7200.

Spencer

Figure 35 - Regional location map showing Spencer’s presence in the Midwest

TRAFFIC FLOW Comparing the 1999 to 2011 Iowa DOT Traffic Flowmaps the overall trend with traffic in the northern part of Spencer appears to show a decrease in the number of overall traffic flow, with the opposite happening with traffic in the southern part of Spencer. The traffic in town seems to be trending downward in traffic counts throughout the interior of the community, but at a slightly faster pace. The primary transportation route in Spencer remains to be the Iowa Highway 71 and Iowa Highway 18 corridors. Much of the change in traffic flow is reflective of population trends, and employment changes experienced over the past 10-15 years. The numbers between 1999 and 2011 reflect the overall traffic flow decreasing on most roadways, but the highways and major collector routes have not declined as fast as the secondary roadways in Spencer. This may be attributed to a greater amount of traffic utilizing the major thoroughfares for commuting patterns or simply traveling through Spencer.

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NW Iowa Planning & Development