Advisory group examines transportation funding, county roads and bicycle/trail connectivity

The Coconino County advisory group reviewed the new circulation and transportation chapter and questioned how county responsibilities, funding formulas and project priorities are reflected in the draft.

Advisory members asked staff to make clear, early in the chapter, which roadways the county maintains and which are the responsibility of cities, towns, state agencies or tribal nations. County staff said they would link to the county's ArcGIS road-maintenance map showing the county-maintained system and noted the map changes periodically.

Funding dominated much of the discussion. Staff and advisory members explained that most road funding comes from federal and state highway-user revenues (gas-tax receipts) and that Arizona's highway-user-fund levels have been effectively flat for decades. Participants noted that Coconino County passed a road-maintenance sales tax (Prop 403) that has materially increased county road funding and that the county will need a long-term strategy to sustain that revenue when the 20-year measure nears its expiration. Staff confirmed the current sales-tax funding runs through 2034 and that the county will need to consider renewal or alternate funding sources.

The group debated tolls and user-fee ideas for federal or recreation roads. Several participants said users should pay for heavy maintenance demands on remote roads; others noted practical, administrative and political hurdles to implementing tolls or per-user fees on federal or county routes.

Participants also discussed EV charging. Staff noted ADOT and other programs are expanding chargers on state routes and that commercial developments typically can add EV chargers as accessory uses under current zoning; if a charging facility is the primary use it would trigger commercial permitting. Advisory members suggested the county consider model language for requiring chargers in large projects or public projects where feasible.

On active transportation, staff reported an application was submitted for a county-wide multimodal connectivity master plan (a potential $1,000,000 grant application) to study pedestrian, bicycle, and other connectivity between communities including Flagstaff, Williams and the Grand Canyon. The group supported including bicycle and trail connectivity in planning both for resilience and for visitor access.

Staff described planned transportation studies intended to make the county more competitive for grant funding, including a Belmont-area circulation study and a countywide safety master plan that will target fatality- and injury-reduction projects on collector and arterial routes. Staff noted studies help jurisdictions secure federal and state grants.

Staff said they would incorporate advisory comments, flag a policy about sustaining the county road-maintenance tax for future renewal, and bring revised text back to the advisory group.