Sedona AZ (August 30, 2018) – The city’s Sedona in Motion (SIM) transportation improvement project continues to move forward. Active planning has begun for expanded transit service for both residents and tourists.
LSC Transportation Consultants, a transportation and traffic engineering firm with offices in Colorado, California and Nevada, has been contracted for development and implementation of a greater Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon transit system. The majority of the funding for the contract is provided by a federal grant, with $30,000 coming from city SIM funds and $10,000 from Coconino County. The Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau has pledged $10,000 for potential additional development work.
The project study is focused in two areas: (1) development of a visitor-oriented shuttle that would serve the greater Sedona area, including Oak Creek Canyon and the Village of Oak Creek, and (2) enhanced circulation service within Sedona city limits.
Sedona Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director Karen Osburn says transit improvements were among the strategies in the Transportation Master Plan to receive overwhelming citizen support.
“That overwhelming support was not surprising,” she says, “given that our citizen-created Community Plan includes goals of reducing dependency on single-occupancy vehicles, improving traffic flow and being good stewards of the environment.”
PROJECT KICK-OFF AND PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 4-6 p.m.
Vultee Conference Room, Sedona City Hall, 102 Roadrunner Dr.
The open house is a drop-in session at which Sedona, Village and Oak Creek Canyon residents can talk with the transit project team members, ask questions and share their opinions on what’s needed and what will work.
TAKE THE ONLINE SURVEY
Take a brief, 12-question, online survey to provide input. The survey closes after Sept. 30.
Because the proposed transit system must cross jurisdictional boundaries and presumably would have multiple partners for operations, a multi-jurisdictional project team has been organized to serve as the technical advisory committee and work alongside the consultants. The advisory committee includes members from the city, Arizona Department of Transportation, Sedona Fire District, U.S. Forest Service, Coconino County, Arizona State Parks, Cottonwood Area Transit, and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau.
Additional resident and business input opportunities are planned as the project moves forward and transit plans are further refined.
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8 Comments
So far we have spent over $250,000 on traffic plans and gotten a big fat zero in return. The SIM program has not progressed one inch but it has irritated residents with threats to disrupt their neighborhood with no benefits in sight.The Uptown 3rd southbound lane to reduce congestion on 89A was a dud because there’s no space for it to fit. With such a superb start ( !!??!! ) I hope this expenditure doesn’t perform the same way. It’s focus seems to be different and that gives me some hope we’ll not end up down the drain as we have in the past.
The 4 consultants just recently hired have the opportunity to make real progress but only if the ” politicians ” keep their mouths shut and they stay out of the way of these experts. I will not place bets on this.
No one wants to recognize what is causing the congestion we all complain about. It is the tourist but we also must understand that it is our largest and most influential industry affecting so many of our livelihoods.
Maybe the turmoil of the recent election will somehow generate solutions which most of us can accept.
Right On, Mr. Roberts.
Let us pray that the cause of the traffic congestion will come to a head with the current consultants report and hopefully long awaited suitable & acceptable action will prevail.
Reducing the astronomical gift money to the “living in luxury” Chamber will be a good start.
That is if the City Council finally accepts reality and does the right thing without too much back and forth maneuvering that they are historically known for !
Sustainable definition “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”
Think about the traffic in cities, Los Angeles for example, it is terrible, and has been sustained for decades. If you look at SIM as a diversion that was not meant to solve the problem, but to placate the residents, you can see its purpose. There have been dozens of traffic studies paid for by the City of Sedona, no solutions were proposed. The Sedona In Motion diversion was a success, voters approved Home Rule and the funding to the Chamber will continue.
As Jennifer of the Chamber said ” We have businesses that depend on day trippers.”
With the Chamber in control and new hotels in the pipeline, traffic will only get worse.
I want to thank the voters that voted for me.
Thanks for your 2 cents Tony.,
But due to you resounding defeat no one cares about your opinion.
You had you 1 minute of fame …
The voters saw right through you nonsense rhetoric.
There was one too many people running. She won due to divide and conquer method or maybe taking over the wine festival on the airport. That should be looked at.
Sedona is pathetic now, lots of healing needed.
Some Transportation Master Plan Facts:
1. “Traffic congestion in Sedona cannot be solved without addressing traffic congestion in Oak Creek Canyon.” (p. 95).
2. Over 90% (and as high as 99%) of the traffic in Oak Creek Canyon is visitor traffic. (Table 1.1, p. 16).
3. “50% of the travelers to Oak Creek Canyon do not stop in Sedona.” (AB 2147, Jan 10, 2017, p.36)
4. A tourism focused shuttle to Oak Creek Canyon would cost at least $4.6 million to implement and 460,000 per year to operate. (Table 4.27, p. 96)
Since the 1980’s Coconino County has strictly limited new development in Oak Creek Canyon. However, at the same time, the State and Forest Service has improved Slide Rock, Grasshopper Point, Call of the Canyon and other day-use areas encouraging visitor traffic. Both Oak Creek Canyon and SR179 are designated, scenic roadways encouraging drive-thru traffic.
Unimpeded recreational access and over-use has consistently shown degradation of Oak Creek Canyon’s natural resources; increased erosion, poor water quality, and a reduction in the environmental health and enjoyment of the resource.
Ironically, as Oak Creek Canyon is “managed” for free, unimpeded access for all to enjoy, those of us that live here avoid it.
Better and more responsible solutions than a multi-million dollar shuttle system should include:
A. A reservation system for the campgrounds, trail heads and day-use areas.
B. Elimination of all road-side parking.
C. Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) advising day-users and scenic travelers that traffic is congested, no parking or camping is available in Oak Creek Canyon and to use I-17 to Flagstaff and to use I-17 from Flagstaff to Phoenix.
By themselves, the Oak Creek Canyon DMS is estimated to reduce traffic by 16% at a cost 85% less than that of a shuttle system to the Canyon. (Table 4.45, p. 121) If combined with a reservation system and elimination of roadside parking, the reduction may even be more.
This meeting would be a good start to get involved with transportation issues in Sedona
Good evening,
I know many of you but for those I haven’t met yet, I am the Citizen Engagement Coordinator with the City of Sedona. You are all part of our stakeholders group for the Sedona Transit Plan Project, and will be talking with our consultants on this project, LSC Transportation Consultants next week, which you’ve already been informed of. We wanted to also make sure you knew about the Open House we’re having for the public on Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm in the Vultee Conference Room here at City Hall. This will be a drop-in listening session — an opportunity for interested community members to talk with project team members about their views on the need for and objectives of public transportation within the greater Sedona area.
If you could share this Open House information with your networks, that would be great – see the announcement below. We look forward to hearing your input next week in your in-person or phone meetings, and thank you for being involved in such an important project.
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You are invited to provide input to the Greater Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon Transit Plan
The City of Sedona would like to invite the public to a drop-in open house on Wednesday, September 12, from 4-6 PM at the City of Sedona City Hall, Vultee Conference Room.
This study is examining the need for and feasibility of transit service in the Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon area. It will result in an implementation plan for a public transit service to connect Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon and the Village of Oak Creek. The Study area includes the City of Sedona, and the 179/89A corridor from the Red Rock Ranger Station to the overlook at the north end of Oak Creek Canyon. While the primary focus of the service is visitors, the needs of local residents are also considered.
Drop in anytime during the open house to speak directly with the consulting team members about your views on the need for and objectives of public transit service in this area.
Residents are also encouraged to take a brief e-survey to provide input to the transit plan. The survey can be accessed by clicking here.
These are the first of several opportunities for public input to the project. There is also an an e-survey of businesses and a more formal public workshop once some preliminary recommendations have been developed.
Lauren Browne
Citizen Engagement Coordinator
City of Sedona
O: 928-203-5068
C: 928-821-6958
Sedona City Hall is open for business Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Fridays. The Wastewater system maintenance remain on a Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. Police and maintenance services are not impacted.
We don’t want to be connected to Sedona in any way, leave us alone.
Big Park or Oak Creek Canyon.
Go ahead Steve, tell us you live and vote there too!