Four years ago, Barack Obama was president, Sen. John McCain was still alive, I had not yet met the woman who would become my wife, the original “CSI” was still on the air and we published a two-page spread titled “A Comprehensive List of Potential Improvements to Fix Sedona Traffic” that kick-started public demand for something to be done to mitigate Sedona’s ever-worsening traffic problems.
Residents followed and demanded the city act. Sedona City Council vowed to do so, but, as yet, there have been no shovels in the ground. State Route 179 is still backed up to the Chapel area on Saturdays. Canyon traffic slows to a crawl after passing Midgley Bridge. The afternoons see regular eastbound traffic stopped from the “Y” roundabout to Les Springs or Airport Road.
In the last four years, Sedona City Council has had the time to debate a trash can ordinance that went nowhere, pass resolutions regarding national issues over which it has no control, fail in hiring a single trash hauler, hold a dozen meetings about a CVS pharmacy, extort hotels for affordable housing funds — no affordable housing has been built, but that’s a topic for a whole other editorial — or oppose a proposed housing development miles outside Sedona city limits where it has no authority whatsoever.
The traffic delay isn’t on our streets, apparently, it’s in City Hall.
We have called on city leaders to pressure the U.S. Forest Service and Coconino County officials to pave Schnebly Hill Road from east Sedona to Interstate 17. Only a small portion would be in city limits, thus a commensurately small amount of money would be due from the city. In response, council has claimed it’s too much and that paving would cost $10 million to $20 million.
Yet, just a few miles to the south, the federal government will spend $25 million for Verde Connect to link State Route 260 and Cornville Road. It was money out of the blue that no local government asked for and now they’re all trying to figure out where to tell the feds to build a road no one wants.
If the Verde Connect albatross can get funding, surely Schnebly Hill Road can get funded if city officials get off their hands and bother to make some phone calls.
Residents have pressured the city to ask Yavapai County to rebuild a crossing over Oak Creek near Red Rock Crossing. Council hasn’t. Nor will it ask the Arizona Department of Transportation to widen State Route 179 to four lanes, like it planned 20 years ago. Residents demand council pick one and do it now.
Council has gobs of money to spend on other projects. After the snowstorm in February, the city announced it would collect broken branches and downed trees at no cost to residents. But no civic project is really “free.” The estimated $50,000 came from the city’s budget, yet only 23 percent was funded by sales tax collected by residents. The other 77 percent of the funds came from sales taxes paid by tourists, who fund more than three-quarters of the city’s budget. Yes, those tourists are paying to pick up our dead trees.
Over a year ago, the city raised sales tax by 0.5 cents to go toward traffic mitigation, but this hasn’t put a shovel into the dirt yet. Tourists are also funding 77 percent of this and they’re the reason traffic sucks. Why are we and they paying more for council to still do nothing?
The last two council election cycles have featured also-rans whose prime concern was traffic, making it the top campaign issue. This last election got supremely nasty due to traffic frustration. The 2020 election will be worse if council doesn’t act now.
The Sedona Chamber of Commerce is launching a campaign to get residents to support the Sedona in Motion plan, but we have to ask: Why support is warranted when the city hasn’t yet done a thing other than talk?
Yet, thanks to the contract with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, the city of Sedona rakes in sales tax revenue and has had multi-million dollar budget surpluses over the last decade.
The first project on council’s list is ripping up Uptown to add roundabouts, the least efficient “improvement” it could possibly pick.
What about connecting Forest Road to State Route 89A? Add slip lanes heading to the Y roundabout? A bypass off State Route 89A to Schnebly and Jordan roads? Removing parking on State Route 89A in Uptown and widening the road to four lanes so we don’t have to wait for tourists trying to park? Any bypass, anywhere, so State Route 89A between Les Springs Drive and Brewer Road isn’t a choke point?
The overwhelming majority of residents want Sedona City Council to act. Put shovels in the ground and build roads, bypasses or widen something so traffic can flow. Call the Sedona City Manager’s Office at (928) 204-7127.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
