Flagstaff, AZ: Creating Connections
Development is rapidly occurring across the state of Arizona, and there has been a significant rise in construction centered around the epicenter of northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Many new developments ranging from hospitality, retail, multi-family housing, and various research & development sites are bringing dozers and cranes to this expanding mountain town.
With the arrival of new development, there is also the influx of new infrastructure to support the additional jobs, visitors, and resource needs of the community. A major example of new infrastructure that is well on its way towards completion, is the Mountain Line – Downtown Connection Center.
Mountain Line is the region’s major public transportation agency offering a variety of transportation options that center around bus and van pool services. The member organizations for Mountain Line consist of the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Coconino Community College (CCC). This partnership has allowed for a direct integration throughout all major agencies to better serve the needs of the public and impressive tourism sector.
Mountain Line has grown significantly over the last several years, now supporting over 2.5 million riders annually through 10 different routes that circle Flagstaff. The city of Flagstaff typically sees between six to seven million visitors every year as the gateway to the Grand Canyon. A strong education sector also directly contributes to ridership with NAU and CCC supporting roughly 28,000 and 2,000 students, respectively, at their campuses. The current bus fleet for Mountain Line is 100% hybrid-electric ensuring it plays an active role to deliver the sustainability goals set by the region. Additionally, there are over 164 key stops located in Flagstaff to ensure any visitor, student, or resident can get where they need to go.
To support the creation of new routes and new riders, Mountain Line has elected to construct a new state-of-the-art facility that will function as the nucleus for public transportation. This Downtown Connection Center is currently being constructed in the heart of the downtown and is scheduled to open in mid-2024. The facility is the first phase of what will become a larger project that supports additional parking for downtown visitors and public art installations. Loven Contracting, is the local developer that has been selected to bring phase one to fruition and has been hard at work this past summer.
Visit chooseflagstaff.com for more information.
