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According to Targets traffic analysis report dated June 4, 2008 Table 7 page 10, Target anticipates 2.8 cars per minute into the Superstore not including traffic to adjoining retail stores in "peak" morning hours and 5.7 cars per minute in "peak" PM hours. These numbers represent the heart and soul of Targets projected traffic of 15,970 cars a day to the Target complex.
Those numbers might be accurate in a new small store in a small city, but seemed a tad low for a metropolitan area, so I conducted some time studies of my own.
I parked myself in the parking lots of the following Target stores: Edina, Bloomington, Minnetonnka, Shakopee, Richfield and yes even the new, desolate Apple Valley Super Target. I ran ten minute tests counting cars entering the parking lots per minute in ten minute increments. I did my best to measure just traffic intended for the Target Retail and in the case of Minnetonka, the adjoining grocery store to reflect a Target Grocery store. Here are my findings:
According to MY studies, the average incoming traffic of all AM Target stores are 8.16 cars per minute, compared to Targets 2.8 cars per minute estimates.
My average PM traffic count was 7.5 cars per minute compared with Targets 5.7 cars per minute
and my samples haven't even touched the "peak hours" yet.
Apple Valley Superstore that is suppose to reflect "our" proposed store is in the middle of undeveloped land south of Apple Valley. except for the nearby Stone Quarry, there isn't a building closer than .8 miles from the store, yet even that store draws 6.2 cars per minute at 2 pm weekday afternoon even though the rest of the retail development is still vacant! The existing Bloomington Store attracts an astonishing 9.4 cars per minute in early afternoon weekday. My studies seem to support the notion that Traffic estimates of Targets new Superstore seem a bit under reported.
Target has based it's estimated 15,970 cars per day to the proposed Supertarget on 2.8 cars a minute AM Peak and 5.7 PM peak, when in fact you would be hard pressed to find numbers that low in "quiet" times of day. Clearly traffic in excess of 23,000 cars a day may be possible in my opinion.
One of our volunteers did a traffic count at the Richfield Super Target of (2) ten minute segments Thursday July 10 after 7PM
The results of traffic just to the Super Target but not the adjoining stores:
The first ten minutes were 38 cans and the second were 52 cars. A total of 90 cars over 20 minutes or 4.5 average.
Thats in the ball park of what Target Corporation expects for that time of day.
It is important to note that the adjoining development is still mostly vacant and under construction and obviously the traffic counts will increase as these store fronts fill.
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