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    Home » (Over) Selling Sedona: Simple Solutions
    Sedona

    (Over) Selling Sedona: Simple Solutions

    June 11, 20217 Comments
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    By [Concerned Sedona Resident]
    (June 11, 2021)

    Selling SedonaThis is the fifth and final article in our current Selling Sedona series.  We’ve looked at criteria for evaluating proposed new “road” solutions, weighed the most commonly-proposed ones against those criteria and examined the fallacy of transit as a solution to Sedona’s traffic woes. 

    We concluded that none of the “road” proposals are likely to ever be implemented and would be of little benefit individually if they ever were.  Analysis also shows that expanded public transit cannot remove enough cars from our roads to even measure.  Transit seems headed for expansion in some form despite cautionary warnings from several sources and, if done, will likely suffer the same fate as the Roadrunner in the long run.

    The notion of a traffic “solution” implies that the problem is solved and disappears.  The simple answer to Sedona traffic is that there are no actual solutions among the traditional roads-and-transit approaches.  Some combination of these proposals could probably make a measurable difference but at a cost of several hundred million dollars. 

    There are, however, some actions that can be taken outside those outmoded approaches to lessen tourist traffic.  Some of these actions won’t please those who only see Sedona’s beauty and attraction as a cash cow or who espouse the fiction that tourists pay some exaggerated amount of our city budget, cost us nothing in return and that we can’t survive with fewer of them.

    The reality is that tourists actually cost residents plenty.  They not only disrupt our lives in numerous ways but also force us to support a larger and more expensive police department, fire department, sewer system, city management and city maintenance staff.

    So, let’s look at a few affordable and simple actions that could potentially change tourist traffic and make life for residents better than what we are enduring now. 

    Stop paying to be overrun

    Virtually everyone in the know, including the mayor, Chamber of Commerce, Sedona city staff, news media and knowledgeable residents has openly admitted that tourists are going to flock to Sedona whether the city pays for advertising or not.  Larger businesses will continue to promote Sedona at a rate higher than what the city has been kicking in.  And so the obvious question:  Why are we still paying the Chamber of Commerce for anything if the tourists are coming anyway?

    One answer is that seven years ago, the Chamber of Commerce coerced the City Council into passing an ordinance giving 55 percent of the city’s bed taxes to the Chamber.  That would have amounted to $2.4 million this fiscal year.  We could start by simply repealing that ordinance and letting those who benefit directly from the Chamber’s activities pay for them. 

    True, the city directed the Chamber last February to stop marketing Sedona.  More recent budget discussions have extended that order.  That doesn’t mean the city has stopped paying the Chamber, however.  City tax dollars still go to the Chamber for things like operating the uptown visitor center and other “non-promotional” uses.  Even though tourists pay most of the bed taxes, these funds still belong to the city and city residents, regardless of who pays them. 

    Chamber staff and most members still oppose a complete halt in public funding, and why not?  Nice staff salaries, expensive trips to conferences and other travel funded directly or indirectly with public money are all powerful incentives to continue. 

    Chamber members, and especially their spokesperson who regularly comments on this site, can be expected to contend that without city funding tourism will decline and Sedona will come up short of funds.  These are the same people who, when criticized for the tourist invasion, say their advertising isn’t responsible.

    Reality is, that city residents were never getting a return on the millions handed over to the Chamber each year anyway.  Rather than detailing that again here please read the first article in our 2016 Selling Sedona series for the documentation.  Find it at: https://sedona.biz//editorial-and-opinion/opinion-selling-sedona-one-year-later/.  Tourists are not going to stop coming regardless of our desire to stifle the flow, but at least we should permanently stop paying millions and losing money in the process for the privilege of being overrun.

    Sedona exit sign at Camp Verde

    Sedona has two roads leading into town from I-17, but only the Highway 179 exit has a “Sedona Exit” sign.  That is part of the reason for the heavy 179 traffic.  Some of that flow could be spread to Highway 89A.  Only ADOT policy prevents having a “First Sedona Exit” sign on I-17 at Highway 260 leading to Cottonwood and on to Sedona.  Signs are a whole lot cheaper and easier than a new road or bus system.  The risk is that more tourists entering Sedona via 89A may make the backups on Cook’s Hill worse.  

    Sedona Gift Shop

    Cool off Social media

    The Chamber’s claim that their advertising is not responsible for the tourist masses has some actual data to support it.  Informal surveys conducted at the Chamber’s uptown visitor center reveal that family, friends and especially social media are the prime information sources bringing visitors to Sedona.  Chamber advertising is virtually never mentioned. 

    The city-funded uptown Chamber visitor’s center has also grown increasingly obsolete in this social media age.  Most of the tourists that actually stop there have already used social media to identify Sedona’s offerings and compiled that  information on their cell phone apps.

    What brings those visitors to Sedona could also send them away.  It may already be doing so.  Discouraging reviews about our terrible traffic, overcrowded trails, overpriced services and unavailable parking are showing up on various social media sources with growing frequency.  The golden goose may already be in the oven.

    A concerted effort by even a few individuals steadily posting negative stories about Sedona on social media outlets could add to that trend.  No need to fabricate anything.  There are plenty of real stories to tell about Sedona’s degradation by tourists.  Imagine a steady stream of reports about overcrowded and overpriced Sedona appearing regularly on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Trip Advisor, Snapchat and others.  

    Given how most tourists get their information, it could be a simple and cheap way to reduce tourist numbers and their impacts on our overtaxed infrastructure. 

    Conclusion

    This article concludes our current (Over) Selling Sedona series.  We looked at the five criteria governing the viability of proposed Sedona traffic solutions including ownership of the land, public access to publicly-funded sites, funding, efficacy of the proposed solution and negative considerations. 

    In the first of a two-part discussion, we evaluated some of the most commonly-proposed traffic solutions against those five criteria.  Those “solutions” included roads for locals only, bridging Red Rock Crossing, paving Schnebly Hill Road, widening Highway 179, bypassing Uptown and neighborhood connectors.  Finally, we examined public transit as a way to take cars off the road.

    We found all of the proposed solutions impractical and/or ineffective.   But there are some actions we can take that, while not “solutions,” may help stem the tourist traffic tide.  Now we hope our City Council will act by permanently repealing the Chamber funding ordinance, pressing ADOT for a “Sedona Exit” sign at Camp Verde and lobbying the legislature to modify the short term rental rule.   Finally we hope social media truly is starting to expose the reality of overcrowded and overpriced Sedona and encouraging people to consider other places for their vacation. 

    We would now like to again retire from this reporting effort after what is our 14th article about the selling of Sedona.  If you have followed this new series to this point, thank you for caring enough to do so.  We hope you gained some new information and insights that will be useful.

    (Over) Selling Sedona: Decision Points
    How Do They Measure Up? Part 1 • Part 2
    The Fallacy of Transit
    Simple Solutions

    Selling Sedona – One Year Later: Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3

    Selling Sedona, 2015: Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Epilogue

    7 Comments

    1. RJ on June 14, 2021 11:46 am

      Excellent solutions that must be adopted now..

    2. Michael Johnson on June 14, 2021 1:06 pm

      I have spoken at city council meetings and written to RRN about the bus.
      I do not see it working. Why would someone come in on I-17 and park near VOC to take 2 or more buses to get to WEST FORK only have to do a reverse trip to get to their car and then come back into town to go to their motel. Who would want to take a bus to SLIDE ROCK with all the stuff you need to be at the water. The numerous bike riders will not be using the bus. The folks towing in their ATVs will not be on the bus. The buses will not infiltrate our neighborhoods enough. Thus if a resident wanted the bus they would have to park at a motel.
      I will suggest again giving Cottonwood $3,000,000 per year to add to their bus lines. Why? We already give them about $300,000 a year if I remember correctly for service here. $3 million – a bargain – represents one half of the $6,000,000 Sedona thinks it will cost to run a bus system. Then if it works (by them adding routes and more bus frequency) we also save the around $45 million to get a new bus system in place.

    3. Blue Boelter on June 14, 2021 2:27 pm

      Again, kudos on another well-written and researched article!! You are bringing sanity to this topic!
      The only thing I take issue with is diverting tourist incoming traffic to 89A from Cottonwood. Reason 1: 89A in West Sedona is already over-congested, with stop-n-go traffic even on weekdays now. It would be backed up halfway to Cottonwood.
      Reason 2: This is personal. I live down Upper Red Rock Loop and that is my escape route. If it’s blocked by tourists I’m not safe in an emergency. We just had a 2 acre forest fire down here that was controlled by neighbors for the 1/2 hour it took Sedona Fire to hike to it. If it had been windy, if it hadn’t been controlled soon after it started, West Sedona could be just burned rubble right now.
      So here’s the thing: Fire danger is off the charts as I write. Does the City even have an evacuation plan? If all the hotels and BnB’s emptied tourists onto 89A and 179 at once, locals would be trapped on their own streets and roads. Where some of us could die. At least where I live, Lower Loop is an alternate route, but many here live on dead end roads. This is a serious issue!

    4. Dave Norton on June 14, 2021 7:53 pm

      I was puzzled by the notation that tourists cause a more expensive “fire department”. There is NO “Fire Department” in Sedona! There is a Sedona Fire DISTRICT, but that is NOT involved with City government nor funding so that remark is made totally out of context and misinformed . . . The Sedona Fire District is funded directly by taxpayers in Zip Codes 86336, 86339, 86340, 86341 and 86351 – The City of Sedona and Big Park (Village).

    5. Paul Boyce on June 15, 2021 12:27 pm

      Thank you for the insightful analysis. It is always a pleasure to read your articles.

    6. Thom Stanley on June 15, 2021 1:36 pm

      Perhaps decision makers could go back and read suggestions made by Voice of Choice for 179 more than 20 years ago that suggested placing a sign directing southern traffic heading to Sedona at the 260 exit. Refer to ASHTO guidelines which are not regulations or rules and then get ADOT on board. Good luck!

    7. Sally Casteno on June 17, 2021 1:34 pm

      Great article, thank you, in particular regarding the insincere and circular arguments we get from the Chamber of Commerce regarding the role of marketing in our over-tourism problem. In addition to the suggestions you offer, it is really important for everyone to understand in addition to writing or emailing the city council members we must vote for council candidates who actually want to listen to our concerns and will stand up for change.

      The city makes it somewhat difficult to vote by piggy-backing city elections to the state primary election; this means that a lot of independent voters may overlook or forget to take the step necessary to request a city ballot when they get the notification about primary elections. I always wondered if the city did this on purpose, as a way to minimize the number of people who vote. Whether or not that is true, one thing that all of us can do is to remind and help the Independent voters to request their city ballots so that more voices are heard at City Hall.

      The hasty departures of the most recent city manger and the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce were an implicit acknowledgement by them of the animosity they accrued from residents over many years for their refusal to even consider alternate views or to attempt to create a different kind of relationship with the Chamber of Commerce. Truly, this rigid thinking harmed our community — not just from the impacts of over-tourism but the absence of all of the other investments and improvements that could have been made in Sedona residents’ quality of life with the many millions of dollars that were funneled instead to the Chamber all these many years.


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