Designers show two public‑art directions for Milton Underpass; BPAC asks for refinements

Designers presented two concept directions and material options for the Milton Underpass on May 12 to the Beautification and Public Arts Commission as part of the Downtown Mile project, and commissioners urged refinements after community feedback from a focus group and a city survey.

The discussion matters because the Milton Underpass functions as a gateway into Flagstaff’s historic downtown and will be a highly visible “canvas” for travelers and pedestrians; design choices will affect maintenance, weather performance and how the city’s story is told.

Laura, a landscape architect with Wheat Design Group / J2 who led the presentation, said the project team distilled community input into two themes: an abstract “sound and motion” approach and a more literal “stories of Flagstaff” approach. “We put it together as a theme called sound and motion,” Laura said, adding that some focus-group participants described the underpass as “the heart of Flagstaff.” She noted that materials under consideration include perforated metal with backlighting, custom or standard form liners (concrete texture molds) and photographic tiles.

Designers mapped the available “canvases” — a long wall labeled L1, abutments beneath the railroad bridge, pier elements and several smaller wall segments — and discussed tradeoffs among durability, visual resolution and cost. Laura told commissioners that photographic tiles have been used successfully in Tucson but advised caution for Flagstaff due to the city’s freeze‑thaw cycles; she said perforated metal is newer and can portray photographic-like images while offering better weather performance if paired with lighting and maintenance access.

Commissioners and participants praised the perforated‑metal option and the idea of kinetic, multi‑scale imagery that works for drivers and pedestrians, and several speakers recommended avoiding literal single-person photography on the underpass in favor of abstraction or collages that convey movement, geology and regional natural elements. One commissioner highlighted that the newly completed Downtown Connection Center transforms the east side of the site and urged designers to consider how murals and underpass treatments will visually connect to that work.

Designers also summarized the outreach that informed the concepts: a focus group that included BPAC members, community members and Mountain Line representatives, plus a Connect Flagstaff survey and recorded comments. Laura said the team recorded and translated comments from that focus group and used direct quotes to shape the two themes.

What comes next: commissioners asked the design team to refine directions based on the survey and BPAC feedback and to return with more developed options rather than a single preliminary plan. Laura said she would accept follow‑up feedback by email and incorporate that input in the next design stage.

Background: the Milton Underpass is part of the larger Downtown Mile project and was routed through the city’s public‑art process managed by BPAC while the city’s consultant design team handles the structural and landscape work.

Commissioners emphasized maintenance, weather performance, and pedestrian experience as criteria for choosing materials and asked the team to show how design choices would be sited relative to sightlines, traffic speeds and the Downtown Connection Center viewing platform.

The item was presented for discussion; no formal vote or final design decision was taken at the May 12 meeting.