City planner outlines FUTS network, funding and gaps; commission presses for stronger trail planning in new development

Martin Entz, a transportation planner for the City of Flagstaff, gave the commission a detailed briefing on the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS), including how trails are planned, funded and built and where gaps remain in the network.

“FUTS stands for Flagstaff Urban Trail System,” Entz said, noting the system is a citywide network of shared‑use paths that serve both transportation and recreation.

Entz told the commission the city has 59 miles of existing FUTS, about half of which are paved, and roughly 75 miles shown in planning documents as future trails. He explained three primary ways trails are implemented: 1) required as part of private development when a trail alignment appears in the adopted regional plan or zoning code; 2) built as part of city capital projects (for example, the Lone Tree Overpass, Butler Avenue and the Downtown Mile / Rio de Flag project); and 3) constructed as standalone city trail projects prioritized through a scoring process.

On funding, Entz said the transportation sales tax approved in 2018 dedicated approximately $29 million for trails, bikeways, sidewalks and crossings but costs have risen and grant availability fluctuates. He said there is an ongoing allocation for maintenance as well, and that about $200,000 a year is currently earmarked for FUTS maintenance from local funding sources.

Entz described planning tools that affect trails: the regional plan (the city’s long‑range plan), the Active Transportation Master Plan (adopted in 2022), and specific zoning code provisions that require private development to provide trail connections where planned. He cautioned that the regional plan map and transportation elements sometimes conflate on‑street bikeways with off‑street FUTS trails, which has created debate about trail function and alignment.

Commissioners raised gaps in east‑side and Sunnyside connectivity, asked how trails are prioritized and funded through the five‑year capital plan, and discussed opportunities to embed trail alignments within large master‑planned developments rather than relegating them to peripheral easements. Entz said the city scores standalone trail projects using criteria for trip generators, social equity, need/functionality and connectivity, then places them in first through fourth priority categories for budgeting.

Entz also described lower‑cost options such as narrower single‑track connectors and forest‑access trails that can extend connectivity where full ten‑foot FUTS alignments are not feasible. He noted the Forest Service is planning a Mount Elden connector that would be narrower and intended as a commuter route between city neighborhoods and forest trails.

Why it matters: commissioners said clearer, earlier trail alignment in the regional plan and stronger requirements for developers would make trails more useful and equitable as Flagstaff grows, particularly in neighborhoods now lacking access.

The presentation ended with a discussion of next steps: integrating prioritized trail projects into the city capital plan, continuing to pursue grants for construction when available and coordinating FUTS priorities with the regional plan update and the city’s forthcoming open‑space master plan work.

No formal vote or legislative action occurred during the presentation; commissioners requested an agenda item to review the regional plan when the draft is published.