Even if you have already signed the FLG Bike Party petition to the Flagstaff City Council, you should write the Council and Mayor and reiterate your concerns.

You can email your comments all of the Council members and Mayor at council@flagstaffaz.gov . Your emailed comments become part of the public record.

The Council seems to respond to an issue if they receive a significant number of letters on the issue.

The petition was filed with the Council on Wednesday with 865 signatures, and it is our understanding that the Council will address it on this Tuesday, June 15th, sometime after 3:00 pm. It is the hope of the petitioners that the Council will choose at this meeting to make this a Future Agenda Item at this point.

It is nearly impossible to determine at what time specifically the Council will address the petition’s Future Agenda Item Request (F.A.I.R.) on Tuesday. It is Agenda Item 14A. The meeting starts at 3:00 pm, Tuesday, June 15th, and there are 13 agenda items before it.

You can watch the meeting here.

Sign up to make a public comment at the Council meeting next Tuesday. Email publiccomment@flagstaffaz.gov with your full name, phone number, and agenda item (safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, Agenda Item 14A, you will be called when it is your turn to speak.)

Some more guidance from FLG Bike Party:
“Next steps:
1) Email council@flagstaffaz.gov
2) Sign up to make a public comment at the Council meeting next Tuesday. Email publiccomment@flagstaffaz.gov with your full name, phone number, and agenda item (safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure). (Agenda Item 14A)
3) Prepare a lil statement. Why is this important to you? When would you like it to happen? Maybe a personal anecdote? Last week they only heard 4 comments on the issue, so please sign up or email if you can.”

Flagstaff Biking Organization’s letter to Council and Mayor-

“Mayor and Council Members-

On Friday, May 28th, a tow-truck driver ran the red light west-bound on Butler at Beaver and hit six cyclists who were participating in the FLG Bike Party ride, a fun gathering of some cycling friends. One rider, Joanna Wheaton, was killed, and the five others suffered injuries. Four are still hospitalized.

We are enraged, saddened, and distraught. As is certainly the case with the thousands of other riders in Flagstaff, this has been a painful reminder to us of the disproportionate dangers that cyclists face when traveling on roadways.

As lifelong advocates for cycling, we are aware that events such as these are far too frequent occurrences. We are hopeful that perhaps a small positive outcome from this tragedy is that cyclist safety will be brought more front and center to the greater community and our elected officials and decision makers. We have been previously dumbfounded by elected officials, some of whom still hold office, who have taken opportunities to publicly share their “cyclist ran a stop sign” anecdotes, or lament that efforts to get folks out of their cars might overwhelm the FUTS trails, rather than treat cycling, and other multimodal means, with the respect and value that they deserve. Maybe these people will be more inclined to enable the actions to properly provide safe and high-value transportation alternatives. It is time for high-visibility cycle tracks, more robust FUTS trails, separated bicycle lanes, bicycle triggered traffic signals, traffic calming measures, complete snow and ice removal, distracted driving enforcement and more, rather than blithe acceptance of the daily congestion and dangers presented by a heavily motor vehicle biased transportation system.

We ask that the Mayor and Council strongly consider the recommendations included in the petition recently submitted by Scott Heinsius and take the strongest action legally possible to expedite the implementation of the Active Transportation Master Plan. Enough attention has been paid by this, and former, Councils to growing housing and other infrastructure. Now is the time for catching up the bicycling and pedestrian facilities to that growth. 

Frankly, it is too late for some.

Sincerely,

The Board of Flagstaff Biking Organization”