Flagstaff Transit Highlighted in New National Report

Media Contacts
Jason Donofrio

Arizona PIRG Education Fund

A new report by Reconnecting America highlights Flagstaff as one of 14 midsize cities in the country setting an example for the next generation of transit projects. Transit advocates celebrated the inclusion of Flagstaff’s Mountain Link bus rapid transit in the report.

“We’ve worked hard to ensure that people across northern Arizona have good access to transit,” said Jeff Meilbeck, General Manager of the Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (NAIPTA). “It’s gratifying  to see our Mountain Link bus rapid transit receive national recognition.”

“Flagstaff has made remarkable progress in improving public transportation options in a short amount of time,” said Serena Unrein, Public Interest Advocate for the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, a group that supports increased public transit in Arizona. “Northern Arizona has shown the rest of the state how much a community can benefit when its residents vote to invest in good public transit.”

Flagstaff was the only Arizona city to be noted in the national report Midsize Cities on the Move: A Look at the Next Generation of Rapid Bus, Bus Rapid Transit, and Streetcar Projects in the United States. The report explores transit in midsize cities with a focus on best practices in transit planning, funding strategies, and outcomes.

“Across the country, midsize cities are investing in transit improvements to better connect suburbs with city centers, to move people between employment centers, and to improve overall connectivity among key destinations,” said Sarah Kline, Reconnecting America’s policy director and co-author of the report. “These new transit investments promise to bring not only improved mobility for local residents, but can also be the catalyst for community revitalization, economic development, and improved connectivity.”

The report can be downloaded at: http://reconnectingamerica.org/2012midsize.

– 30 –

Topics