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Commission flags growing maintenance burden as Flagstaff urban trail network expands
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Summary
Commissioners and parks staff warned that Flagstaff’s urban trail network—about 60 miles now with roughly 24 miles hard‑surface—will require more maintenance funding and staff as new capital projects add mileage; staff outlined potential options including cost‑per‑mile estimates, contractor work, and user‑fee studies.
Parks staff told the Flagstaff Parks and Recreation Commission Dec. 15 that the city currently maintains roughly 60 miles of urban trail—and that as new capital projects come online the maintenance burden will grow without additional funding or staff.
Staff said about 24 of those miles are hard surface and that one full‑time parks technician is primarily responsible for maintaining the system alongside seasonal help. Gino, the parks section lead, described routine maintenance tasks including vegetation control, trash pickup (one full day per week for trash cans), graffiti abatement, washout repairs on aggregate trails and periodic concrete or asphalt panel replacements.
"We have one full time employee who is responsible for 60 miles of trail," Gino said, describing seasonal vegetation work and weekly trash collection as regular demands on staffing.
Commissioners and staff discussed multiple funding sources and constraints: some maintenance comes from the general fund and the Bed, Board and Beverage (BBB) special revenue, but those sources are limited and primarily intended for recreation and capital in part. Staff and commissioners proposed measuring maintenance cost per foot or per mile, studying user fees and impact fees, and coordinating maintenance considerations into capital project plans to avoid delivering new amenities without operations funding.
Several commissioners pointed to planned capital projects—such as the John Wesley Powell corridor and the Lone Tree Overpass—that could add miles in the near term and drive maintenance needs higher. Staff estimated some additions could appear by 2027 and urged the commission to raise coordinated advocacy at council and with other advisory bodies.
Staff said more detailed cost estimates, including per‑mile and per‑surface‑type figures, will be developed and rolled into the upcoming master planning and capital discussions. The commission agreed to discuss trail funding and connectivity at a joint meeting with the Open Space Commission in February.
