Consideration and Adoption of Resolution No. 2015-27:   A Resolution of the Council of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, stating its support for the development of U.S. Bicycle Route 66

This resolution expresses the Council’s approval and support for the designation of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 through Flagstaff.  The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is preparing an application to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for designation of four U.S. Bicycle Routes across Arizona, including U.S. Bicycle Route 66, which generally follows the alignment of historic Route 66 and passes through Flagstaff.  As part of the application, ADOT must demonstrate that it has the concurrence from all local agencies that have ownership or operational authority over any part of the proposed route; this resolution will provide that concurrence.

The City is not obligated to make any improvements or add specific bicycle facilities to streets designated as part of the U.S. Bicycle Route system; nor is the City obligated to provide a higher level of maintenance along the designated route.  Local jurisdictions can post U.S. Bicycle Route signs along the route, but this is optional.

COUNCIL GOALS:
6) Relieve traffic congestion throughout Flagstaff

REGIONAL PLAN:
Goal T.6.  Provide for bicycling as a safe and efficient means of transportation and recreation.
 
Policy T.6.1. Expand recognition of bicycling as a legitimate and beneficial form of transportation.
 
Policy T.6.2.  Establish and maintain a comprehensive, consistent, and highly connected system of bikeways and FUTS trails.
 
Policy T.6.4.  Encourage bikeways and bicycle infrastructure to serve the needs of a full range of bicyclist experience levels.

No

• Adopt Resolution No 2015-27 as presented
• Adopt Resolution No 2015-27 with amendments
• Do not adopt Resolution No 2015-27.  Because concurrence from the City is a required, if the Resolution is not adopted, ADOT will have to either reroute U.S. Bicycle Route 66 to avoid Flagstaff, or withdraw its application to AASHTO.

The U.S. Bike Route System is a national network of bicycle routes that link urban, suburban, and rural areas using a variety of appropriate cycling facilities. These routes are established by State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), and are designated and catalogued by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) through the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (this is the same committee that assigns numbers to U.S. highways and interstates).  To date there are 8,992 miles of U.S. Bicycle Routes in 18 states.
 
Future routes are depicted on the National Corridor Plan, which was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association and AASHTO in December of 2014.  The plan shows 50-mile wide conceptual corridors that can be refined to a specific alignment.  There are four corridors identified on the National Corridor Plan in Arizona: Routes 66, 70, 79, and 90.  Of the four, only Route 66 travels through Flagstaff.
 
Beginning last summer, ADOT undertook a process to evaluate options and refine route alignments for the four corridors in Arizona.  As part of the process, evaluation criteria were established to identify routes that would provide access to key destinations, create a relatively direct alignment, offer a comfortable and scenic route for cyclists, and gain support from local agencies and stakeholders.  It is ADOT’s intent to submit its application to AASHTO in late summer or early fall, for review at the October meeting of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering.
 
Before ADOT can submit its application, concurrence – in the form of a resolution, ordinance, or letter of support – must be obtained from every agency that owns or manages the streets and roads that make up the routes.  Locally, concurrence for U.S. Bicycle Route 66 is required from the City of Flagstaff and Coconino County.  The Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved Resolution No. 2015-16 in support of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 on April 21, 2015.

A map of the proposed alignment through Flagstaff is attached.  The Flagstaff section of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 would use the following streets:
   
Butler Avenue, Beaver Street, San Francisco Street, East Route 66, and Highway 89 are City-maintained streets.  The rest belong to either ADOT or Coconino County.  For a portion of the route through Flagstaff, users would also have the option of riding on the FUTS on the south side of Route 66. 
 
Routes can be modified after designation.
 
Overall, the proposed route follows the historic alignment of Route 66 across northern Arizona for approximately 400 miles from California to New Mexico.

Designation of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 through Flagstaff will be beneficial to the community in several ways: 

• Promotes bicycle tourism in northern Arizona, and supports the local economy
• Provides wayfinding through town for long-distance cyclists
• Enhances Flagstaff’s reputation as a bicycle friendly community
• Reinforces the City of Flagstaff’s support for bicycling as a mode of transportation

Inform

On April 2, 2015, the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee recommended to the Transportation Commission approval of a resolution in support of U.S. Bicycle Route 66 through Flagstaff on the proposed alignment, by a vote of 7-0.

The Transportation Commission is scheduled to review the resolution at its regular meeting of June 3, 2015.
 
Flagstaff Bicycle Organization, a local bicycle advocacy group, has been involved in the process for determining the final route.  City staff has been participating in ADOT’s steering committee meetings.