Sedona AZ (September 28, 2017) – As most Sedona residents know, our long-awaited traffic study is nearing completion. Rather than focus on suggestions that have already been the subject of extended discussion, such as improvements in Uptown and at the Y, I would like to turn to two areas that need special attention because they extend beyond our city limits: Route 89A through Oak Creek Canyon, and Route 179 through the Village of Oak Creek.
When I ran for office last year, I stressed that long-term solutions to Sedona’s traffic congestion would have to look beyond the city’s borders. Skeptics insisted that solutions north and south of the city would be impossible because of the number of governmental bodies that would have to be involved. I believed that we needed to try.
In Oak Creek Canyon, we are fortunate to have a grass-roots organization called Traffic Matters, headed by two energetic canyon residents, Marcie Ellis and Jerry Showalter. Over the past year, their meetings have included representatives from an impressive list of jurisdictions, including the city of Sedona, ADOT, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Public Safety, Coconino County, Sedona Fire District, and Arizona State Parks – proving that it is possible to get the right people to the table.
Traffic Matters and their governmental counterparts have been discussing a variety of approaches to mitigating the traffic congestion that has plagued the canyon during peak periods and has raised serious public safety concerns. Some solutions in Oak Creek Canyon could dovetail with projects being considered by the city of Sedona, such as public transit to Slide Rock State Park. A symbiotic relationship is emerging.
Along Route 179, the situation is similar in some ways to Oak Creek Canyon. Residents complain that during peak periods, traffic can back up all the way to the Village, and sometimes as far as the Ranger Station. People have talked for years about solutions, such as alternate routes to West Sedona. Just as with the canyon, many skeptics believe that a solution outside Sedona would involve too many jurisdictions to be feasible.
On the other hand, the prospects for progress along Route 179 differ from the canyon in an important respect: They don’t have a grass-roots group like Traffic Matters to get the ball rolling.
The idea of an alternate route came close to being shelved. In November, 2015, the Red Rock News published a description of four routes that had been proposed in the past – one at Red Rock Crossing and three others nearby. Our current traffic consultants considered those routes, and in December, 2017, they recommended that the idea be dropped. They said that it “would provide only a minimal reduction in travel time from VOC to West Sedona during uncongested conditions.” I argued that an alternate route across Oak Creek would be important during congested conditions, and the idea was retained as a possible long-term solution.
The public supports this idea. Recently our consultants conducted an online survey of Sedona residents to determine levels of support for various traffic proposals. On the subject of an alternate route across Oak Creek, 72 percent were in favor. Moreover, those who liked the idea wanted to treat it as a short-term rather than long-term solution by more than a two-to-one margin.
Evidently our residents feel a sense of urgency about an alternate route. What we need is a grass-roots group to start bringing the right people to the table. Let’s take a page out of the Traffic Matters playbook and get this ball rolling.
The opinions expressed above are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sedona City Council.
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6 Comments
Hi John: The traffic study says an alternate route from the Village should be dropped! Explanation was that this would mean only a “minimal” reduction in travel time. However, they did propose to bring back an idea ADOT had when 179 was done to in stall a right turn only lane at the “Y” roundabout. We paid $250K for the consultant to use old studies, nothing knew. However, at a Council meeting when the study was discussed our City Manager supported this idea even though he said in five to ten years the whole project would be obsolete. I discussed the idea with Justin and he told me it would mean that in busy periods it would save each driver wanting to turn right just a few seconds in time. So this would also be “minimal” travel time. I discussed the idea with a top official at ADOT and asked if they would actually consider taking away the easement Cedar Resort has had for parking on 89a for over forty years. I do not use his name as I did not ask permission to repeat the conversation. He did say he felt assured ADOT would not want to revisit the idea because they did something very similar years ago in Arizona and had to end up buying the business and paying for loss of income and future income and ADOT would not want to go through a situation like that again. Ruining the business of a local business is extremely unkind and non caring of locals.
So if the Consultants think an alternate route from the Village would not be worth the time saved in travel then why would they and our City Manager think it a grand idea to shave a few seconds for drivers turning to Uptown. If our City Hall were serious about doing something ont traffic then there are two solutions:
See if the State will retract the naming of H179 and 89a through the Canyon as Scenic Routes which attracts 50% of the traffic going through Uptown non stop on the way to the Grand Canyon. Plus stopping spending two million dollars a year for the Chamber to advertise in Phoenix and Scottsdale attracting day trippers.
A number of cities have recently announced they no longer want tourists as their cities are being ruined. Local businesses moving out and residents leaving and the Cities becoming nothing but tourist towns. A couple of those Cities were Barcelona, Venice and Arlington, Texas. This is the way our City Hall is guiding Sedona to become so their video of their “vision” of Sedona wanting to maintain a small town atmosphere should no longer be played before each Council meeting as it is extremely hypocritical.
The idea of extending Forest Road through forest service land to 89a means the taking of a private road and condemnation of homes. The mention that it would mean Uptowners could use the route and not cause congestion at the roundabouts is unfair and not true.. Since when are those of us who live in Uptown to blame for the congestion since 50% of those going through that roundabout are on the way to the Grand Canyon. It is shocking that the City would consider such a plan to take away the homes of those who have lived at the top of Forest Road (I am not one of them) for many years and the cost of a roller coaster road would hardly be worth it and probably attract tourists who see a nice road off 89a going through forest land.
Thank you John for taking up the cause of traffic congestion and supporting an alternate route from the Village. I would not be at all affected but, many others would be helped especially the Fire Department racing to transport an emergency patient from the Village to the hospital because the traffic on 179 could cost a life.
After living here for thirty eight years I do feel now that City Hall does not care about residents even though every Council Member lives in the City and looks only on ways to bring in every tourist they can find and have more money to spend.
Again John, thank you for your article, I know that you do care but, can you convince your fellow Council members?
Joan Shannon
315 Smith Rd
Joan Shannon says:
See if the State will retract the naming of H179 and 89a through the Canyon as Scenic Routes,
This is just NIMBY Talk, 10,000+ people make ther living from visitors. Sedona belongs to “All people” not the the resident that first came to Sedona as visitors.
Sedona is Tourist Town, get over it, plan you travel. With out tourist we would not have 40 + restaurants, and not city property tax. we are lucky to live in Sedona and we need to share it. Towns grow or Die.
Hi Steve:
Number of residents in Sedona according to the last census was 10,100 with a loss of 500. Obviously we do not have 10,000 earning a living here. A percentage are retirees and children. You say a town grows or dies but, just how much more can we grow? Certainly not by an increase in residents as the town is almost 100% built out. So you say we should share Sedona but, with how many more tourists. You want more as you own a business here and I must say a very beautiful B&B. There comes a time when a town loses its character and magic feeling due to traffic, traffic and more traffic. So the City advertises for more and more then pays $250K for a company to tell us how to solve the problem and don’t come up with anything worthwhile. So bring in half the world and then complain we have no way to accommodate all the cars. We have reached an unsustainable point and it is getting worse. We will become like Carmel, California did many years ago, Residents could not handle all the tourists and they could not find parking spaces to do their own shopping. The City government at that time would not do anything about it so the residents elected Clint Eastwood, a resident, as Mayor to handle the problem There could come a time Steve when even your beautiful place might suffer because tourists will not return due to the traffic. There are other beautiful places with red buttes like the Canyon Lands outside of Moab, Utah where the movies are made. Stunning Canyons actually more beautiful than what we have except for Oak Creek Canyon. So we might not want to assume that Sedona will go on forever just as it is now.
More tourists bring in more taxes for City Hall to spend and why bother to be a Council Member if there is no money to spend??? Just like Congress. I am not a NIMBY, I have enjoyed visitors as they are all happy to be here so bring with them a nice energy but, enough is enough.
Myself and a number of other residents are sorry we voted for incorporation. We also were promised sewer rates would always be kept low as sales tax would pay for the sewer. Now
we find out residents will be bearing the greatest burden and as Tim Ernster said before he left office of City Manager that residents will be paying $100 per month in the near future. How many elderly who are not wealthy would be able to pay it. Guess you will tell them they should move as you have before but, just where does an elderly person move to and bear the burden of moving after many years. Steve, your comments reveal you think just like your friends at City Hall: “take it or leave it”. Unkind attitude towards residents. You should want Sedona protected from over use so your lovely business will always have guests.
Joan,
Nice logical well thought out comments. I do not see that jamming our streets with drive through sightseers benefits any business.
Steve has a nice place, but statements like 10,000 earning a living here really makes some of his overall comments questionable.
Let the Hotel consortium fund its own promotion and let’s get the city out of the day trip marketing business through the Chamber of Commerce.
Steve has a nice place, but statements like 10,000 earning a living here really makes some of his overall comments questionable.
Sorry mike that is on the low side city numbers**. https://sedonachamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/final_annual-meeting-presentation-2017.pdf
Mike you and I both knew this was a Tourist town before we built.I get stuck on 89A every weekend.
Mike the city like any business need income, 65%+ of city income comes from visitors, not counting what 10,000** employees spend on sales tax…. The city spends bed tax dollars to keep the tax dollars flowing. We could set up a system like the fire dist. Have mill rate. Or a city property tax , good luck with that. Bed and sales are
up over $2,000,000. Over last year… Advertising works and more money for the city…. Lets remember the merchants up town need day trippers and we need tax dollars we don’t own Sedona and residents only make up 1/3 of the users, visitors and employees make up the remainder, just saying
I don’t understand this thing against DAY TRIPPERS, Sedona business is tourism, not coal mining or building cars, we don’t have large corporations, headquarters or car dealers, our entire economy is based on visitors.
Visitors, pay the majority of our taxes, the help pay over $200,000,000 in local payroll, they dine at our restaurants and stay in our hotels, shop and buy art, and many are day trippers.
A majority of businesses depend on the visitors for their livelihood, and many Day-trippers come back for extended stays at a later date. Day-trippers are the lifeblood of uptown and the canyon and for Sedona and the Verde Valley.
Day-trippers are not a sub species of visitors; they are customers and are due all the respect and service as visitors staying in hotels for several days.
Sedona is bisected by two state hwys. 100 miles north of Phoenix and 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon, we will always have traffic, and we all need to change our travel pattern on weekends because the traffic is not going to go away.
We should count our lucky stars every day that we get to live in the most beautiful place in America and only a two hrs. Drive from one of the fastest growing areas in America.