Bulter Complete Streets Section 106 Consultation

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The Federal Highway Administration initiated consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act with consulting parties on February 4, 2026. The State Historic Preservation Office has concurred on the finding of No Adverse Effect. 

The City of Flagstaff has proposed improvements along Butler Avenue between South Milton Road and South River Run Road that ensure safety and mobility of pedestrians and bicyclists in accordance with the City’s 2022 Active Transportation Master Plan and the 2020 Southside Community Plan. The project scope of work will include developing separate, raised bike lanes; enhancing pedestrian crossings; minimizing ROW impacts; addressing impacts to drainage and utilities; and improving existing roadside features including curb ramps and gutters, transit stops, landscaping, low retaining walls, catch basins, and driveways. These improvements will help anchor the City’s expanding active transportation infrastructure and encourage bicycling and walking for a broader segment of the City’s population. This project represents a crucial step towards creating safer, more efficient mobility options for everyone. The City of Flagstaff is using funding from a Safe Streets for All Grant being administered by the Federal Highway Administration, thus making the project a federal undertaking subject to the policies and procedures implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. 

A cultural resources survey report entitled Class III Cultural Survey for the Butler Avenue Complete Streets Conversion Project in Flagstaff, Coconino County, Arizona (WSP Technical Report 2025-017) was completed for the project. Multiple historic buildings and the Flagstaff Southside Historic District are located along Butler Avenue. Undertaking improvements will be confined to the existing transportation corridor and are not anticipated to result in direct physical alteration to any buildings. Given the already highly developed transportation setting and the incremental nature of the proposed improvements, the undertaking is not expected to diminish the District’s integrity of setting, feeling, or association beyond existing conditions. The recommended treatment is avoidance of physical alteration, use of context-sensitive design to minimize visual and traffic- related intrusions on the historic setting, and continued coordination with the State Historic Preservation Office during final design. Based on the findings from the Class III survey, the City and FHWA recommended that the undertaking result in a finding of No Adverse Effect.