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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT <br /> • Maintain the downtown area as the center for economic activity in Pequot <br /> Lakes. As many cities struggle to keep their downtown areas strong and vital, <br /> Pequot Lakes has an advantage in that its downtown has a mix of retail, <br /> professional, transient,and industrial businesses clustered together. The City <br /> must keep the agglomeration of its businesses and seek to infill and redevelop <br /> commercial properties as they become available. A thru-town highway that <br /> increases traffic and dissects the community makes this difficult <br /> • Promote businesses that enhance Pequot Lakes' unique community <br /> character. Pequot Lakes needs to celebrate its rich community character, which <br /> many towns lose in the name of economic development. The small town heritage <br /> should be the foundation of the local economy. Large commercial businesses that <br /> require visibility from the highway and that will be drawn to Pequot Lakes when <br /> the highway is expanded do not fit in this picture. <br /> RECREATION <br /> • Provide more bicycle parking along the Paul Bunyan Trail in downtown to <br /> make it easier for recreational users to stop. Rerouting the trail,reducing the <br /> size of the park, and increasing high speed traffic and congestion through the <br /> downtown is not conducive to this strategy. Furthermore,the trail park was <br /> identified as a community asset and an important green space and gathering area <br /> for the downtown. <br /> TRANSPORTATION <br /> • Promote a safe transportation system. Within the urban area of Pequot Lakes' <br /> downtown,residents want cross-walks, clearly defined intersections,and <br /> narrowing of the road way with vertical elements such as trees or store fronts to <br /> slow speeds and increase driver awareness. The thru-town highway would bring <br /> high speed traffic through the downtown, require widening of existing downtown <br /> roads for stacking room, and make pedestrian movement downtown unsafe. <br /> • Ensure a highly connected road network. Right now,the highest level of road <br /> connectivity exists in downtown. A restricted-access highway would greatly <br /> reduce the connected mad network. <br /> INTEGRATED GROWTH PLAN <br /> • The Integrated Growth Plan defines a downtown mixed-use area in the existing <br /> downtown and residential neighborhoods of Pequot Lakes. This district features a <br /> pattern of development that provides for high-density apartments,townhouses, <br /> live-work units, professional offices, shops, restaurants and small-scale <br /> commercial uses. Sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks, landscaping, and storefronts <br /> abutting sidewalks are encouraged. This pattern would not be feasible with a <br /> thru-town highway. <br /> • The Integrated Growth Plan also identifies a rural/urban transition zone, which <br /> features areas for future expansion of housing and development that ties in with <br /> the existing downtown and urban area, and serves as a buffer to the surrounding --� <br /> rural area. The bypass would form the outer edge of the transition zone, and <br /> further help to keep the urban areas distinct from the rural area. <br />