Superior Street is one of Duluth's oldest streets. Once a trail cut through the wilderness, it is now a commercial and retail hub that is the focal point for the downtown area. As the main route through Duluth, the street has undergone a series of transportation and streetscape-related changes:
At the outset of the planning process for Superior Street, project objectives were arrived upon to guide the development of design concepts and to employ the objectives as evaluation criteria to assist in determining a preferred scheme. Planning objectives include the following: