As the old adage goes, “It likes killing two birds with one stone.” The Sedona City Council voted unanimously on June 25 to allocate $170,895 for the design of the Thunder Mountain/Sanborn Shared Use Path and Drainage Improvements to Shephard-Wesnitzer Inc.
This design will be for increased drainage capacity across some locations of Thunder Mountain Road to get more runoff to the Harmony/Windsong Phase 4 inlet structure, a city report states. The design work will also include the extension of existing drainage culverts along the project corridor to accommodate the installation of the one-mile long, 8-to-10-foot wide Sedona Red concrete shared-use path. The improvements will advance flood protection and pedestrian/bike access and safety.
“When we talk about these share-used paths, we need a 10-foot width,” city engineer Andy Dickey said. “You need these folks to be able to pass safely and not be bumped out into the street.”
Dickey praised the efforts of Go Sedona, a volunteer committee that’s looked at places where trails and pathways are needed most within the city.
“They did designate this as a high priority,” he said. “They felt it improved safety and by establishing a regional connection such as this, it connects a mile across West Sedona. That’s a pretty good step in the direction we’re wanting to go.”
The report also states that staff and project team members have observed high volumes of pedestrians and bicyclists and other modes of travel, including baby strollers, traveling this corridor in the street. These street-separated, multi-modal facility improvements will not only provide a significant safety upgrade for existing multi-modal traffic, it will also promote new multi-modal travel, with the establishment of a safe regional connection. These improvements will create a route parallel to State Route 89A allowing multi-modal traffic to cross West Sedona, without needing to travel on the highway.
Significant public outreach, including general surveys and Transportation Master Plan surveys have already established the need for pedestrian and bicycle facilities, Dickey said.
Councilmen John Currivan and Scott Jablow had concerns that the residents in the neighborhoods where work will be done may not have been told of the proposed plan.
“If the question is, ‘Do the citizens want this?’ then the answer is yes,” City Manager Justin Clifton said. “If the question is, ‘Do the neighbors most closely adjacent to this feel the same way?’ — we can’t answer that. If council wants an answer to that first, we would recommend that you direct us to do that before we begin design.”
Construction of the drainage portion of this project is anticipated to begin in January 2020 and be complete next summer. The shared use path portion of this project is anticipated to be constructed during Fiscal Year 2021.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
