With the opening of its Downtown Connection Center (DCC) earlier this month and major service enhancements scheduled to start on July 27, Mountain Line, Flagstaff’s public transit system, is entering a new era.
The two-story, 21,000-square-foot DCC, located on Phoenix Avenue, is now the home of the transit systems’ customer service, administrative, and operations support teams, and streamlines transfers across Mountain Line’s nine fixed routes. Its previous headquarters on Kaspar Drive will continue to handle bus maintenance and storage.
Built by Loven Contracting, the new hub was created with sustainability in mind. It is all-electric, has solar panels on its roof, includes reclaimed materials, and features a masonry and cross-laminated “mass timber” construction – a low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel. All of these elements contributed to its gold level rating from the Coconino County Sustainable Building Program.
The new facility also includes a community meeting room, space for the Flagstaff Police Department, and two City of Flagstaff public art projects.
“Mountain Line’s new Downtown Connection Center is a significant investment in the Southside community, and serves as a warm welcome to the entire historic Downtown Flagstaff area,” said Mountain Line CEO and General Manager Heather Dalmolin. ” We successfully leveraged the local transit tax to secure more than $27 million in federal and state funding to create an administrative, customer service, and operations hub that will serve transit riders and the entire community for year’s to come.”
The building is the first phase of the DCC project, Dalmolin said. Phase 2 will include 13 bus bays and a civic space once Rio de Flag flood mitigation work is completed in the area.
Meanwhile, Mountain Line is set to implement service enhancements made possible by voter approval of Proposition 488. These include the extension of Route 8 out to Railroad Springs and Woody Mountain Road, and increased frequency on Route 5, which connects downtown to the Highway 180 corridor.
“Additional service improvements will roll out over the next several years, including increased frequency and service hours on most routes throughout the system, later night hours, and service to new areas,” said Dalmolin, who thanked Flagstaff voters for passing Prop 488 and investing in public transit.
We’re excited about this new chapter for Mountain Line and how the positive impact a centrally located hub and expanded services will have on residents and our local workforce. Whether it’s helping employees get to their jobs or giving people the chance to reduce their carbon footprint and leave their vehicles at home, this investment moves Flagstaff forward in more ways than one.
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