DICKINSON — The City of Dickinson is updating its urban planning through a project titled Direction 2050, integrating its Transportation Master Plan and Comprehensive Plan into one long-term strategy. Direction 2050 is led by KLJ Engineering in collaboration with the City of Dickinson and the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT).
Direction 2050 aims to address various aspects of urban development, including transportation, land use, zoning, housing, community facilities, and infrastructure needs. The plan also reviews the Urban Service Boundary, determining areas where the city can support growth based on capacity and infrastructure.
The Direction 2050 planning process, starting with community input and data collection from February to May 2024, progresses through phases of developing community vision, analyzing growth, and evaluating solutions from June 2024 to December 2024. The draft plan is reviewed from January to April 2025, culminating in the final plan’s adoption by the Dickinson City Commission in August 2025.
The plan will also involve an analysis of municipal water and sewer infrastructure within the urban service boundary.
The initial workshops held this Wednesday were scheduled for the morning, afternoon, and evening to accommodate residents’ varying schedules. “The workshops today are to listen and to share information,” stated Wade Klein, the Project Manager from KLJ, who led these first public engagement meetings.
The attendees were provided information and allowed to speak with KLJ engineers, NDDOT represatatives, as well as city of Dickinson officials.
The Direction 2050 project website features an interactive map and a vision board, crucial for community engagement. With 80 contributions so far, residents can identify issues and suggest improvements across areas like Housing, Transportation, and Economic Opportunities.
Locals can provide
comments on the vision board
, some existing messages ranging from concerns over disappearing farmland — “My concern is the amount of farmland that has disappeared around Dickinson in the last 10 years” — to suggestions for updating local commercial spaces — “The mall needs to be upgraded and modernized and maybe have a food court. There is nothing appealing about it.” These tools, along with an additional survey, help gather diverse perspectives to shape the city’s planning process.
Community members are encouraged to participate in the planning process through events planned throughout May and June. The project website offers an online survey and an interactive tool for residents to contribute their views on transportation and community planning issues.
Klein provided an overview of the key data being incorporated into the Direction 2050 master plan during his presentation. He highlighted the significant growth in Dickinson’s population, noting an increase from 17,878 in 2010 to over 33,000 in 2020, with projections indicating potential growth to 42,000 to 43,000 by 2050.
Klein also discussed analyzing crash data from 2018 to 2023, focusing on identifying high-incidence areas for fatal and serious injuries to prioritize safety improvements in the city’s roadway design.
Additionally, he described examining current municipal infrastructure, particularly water and sewer systems within the urban service boundary, to assess needs and capacity for supporting future growth.
For more information or to engage in the planning process, residents can visit the
Direction 2050
website.
Mahnoor