Consultant shares draft curbside action plan to ease Flagstaff downtown parking and loading conflicts

At a May 26, 2025 Flagstaff City Council work session, city staff and consultant Dixon Resources Unlimited presented draft recommendations from a curbside assessment aimed at improving parking and curbside management downtown.

The council heard that Park Flag — the city's downtown parking program — has solid foundations but faces recurring conflicts around loading zones, short‑term access and visitor wayfinding. Gail Brockman, Park Flag program manager, introduced the study and said staff selected Dixon to provide subject‑matter expertise and a data‑driven action plan.

Vanessa Solsby of Dixon said the team conducted multi‑round data collection, stakeholder meetings, ride‑alongs and an online survey, and emphasized that "data collection, understanding your inventory and how your parking is utilized on and off street, that is the foundation of our work together." The study will wrap a spring/early‑summer round of counts in mid‑June to capture seasonality before final recommendations this fall.

Why it matters: downtown access affects residents, visitors and businesses in different ways. The consultant recommended managing the curb by trip type — short‑term pickup/drop‑off versus longer visits — rather than by labeling users as local or tourist. That approach informed draft proposals such as expanding 15‑minute zones, clarifying and enforcing commercial loading areas, and improving pay‑station and mobile payment experiences to reduce friction for customers.

Council members pressed for details about specific conflicts. Vanessa and Gail said survey and stakeholder results identified loading and unloading as the top pain point and described outreach to delivery providers on timing and communications. Council members asked whether loading zones shown on the draft map are intended as new locations or depict current zones; staff clarified the slide depicted existing loading zones, and said they do not plan to remove current signed loading zones without further study.

Employee permits and enforcement: council asked how the city prevents misuse of employee permits. Gail said staff now requests proof of employment and is developing an annual verification process but acknowledged the system is not fully automated. James Smith, lead parking aide, said staff is exploring license plate recognition data to measure permit utilization and support enforcement decisions.

Accessibility and signage: the assessment recommends ensuring ADA compliance through an ADA plan and reducing sign clutter downtown by combining regulatory and wayfinding elements into single signs and by coordinating wraps and artwork on kiosks to promote both information and durability.

Shared parking and programmatic options: the study highlights shared‑parking agreements with private or commercial owners as a near‑term option to increase effective supply without new structures. The consultant also recommended a predictable cadence for fee adjustments (permits and pay‑to‑park) tied to regular data collection.

Public comment: Tyler Denim of Flagstaff for Affordable Housing urged the council to endorse the curbside plan, arguing that efficient curbside management is a precondition to reducing parking mandates in housing projects and thus supports affordability and sustainability.

What’s next: staff said the study remains in progress and will deliver final recommendations this fall after the summer data collection and additional stakeholder checkpoints, including an end‑of‑June public check‑in. Council members asked for implementation details and for staff to return with options on placing additional 15‑minute zones and refining loading protections.

Ending: The work session closed the curbside item after questions and public comment; staff will continue community engagement and return with a fuller plan later in 2025.