It’s all about traffic flow and safety — and not necessarily in that order.
The Sedona City Council gave the nod to proceed with a design of the Forest Road connector project during its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 22. Council approved a professional services contract with Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. in the amount of $338,190 for the design of the project.
The road will provide an alternative for motorists and a secondary way in and out of the Uptown area for first responders. Design on this project will begin immediately with meetings with property owners set for November. Construction is set to start next fiscal year with a tentative completion date of early 2022.
During a May council meeting, all but Vice Mayor John Martinez chose Option 1, which is a 1,636-foot-long, S-shaped roadway that carries a price tag of $2,772,047. This includes sidewalks on both sides or a multi-use pathway on one side, as well as an estimated $400,000 for land costs through acquisition or condemnation. Eight parcels are impacted of varying degrees.
Option 2 was a C-shaped roadway, 1,863 feet in length, costs $3,658,727 and would impact nine parcels. The acquisition/condemnation portion of the cost is estimated at around $600,000.
Staff had eliminated a third option, which went through the Hyatt Piñon Pointe’s tennis courts and employee parking lot.
Currently, the public portion of Forest Road ends near the Hyatt tennis courts. This strategy would entail extending Forest Road from that point, through private property, down to State Route 89A at a point several hundred feet west of the post office. The new intersection at 89A would not allow for left turns off Forest Road, but all other movements would be permitted.
The recognized benefits/needs of the project include:
-Alternate route between Uptown neighborhoods and West Sedona.
-Provides opportunity for expanded multi-modal opportunities.
-Increases accessibility both for emergency response/evacuation.
-Reduces traffic volumes on State Route 89A in the Uptown area and the “Y” roundabout.
Recognized impacts of the project include:
-Some affected property owners have expressed strong opposition, citing impacts to views, additional traffic, noise, etc.
-Portions of private property [not homes] will need to be acquired, some likely through condemnation.
-Potential viewshed impacts to the hillside.
A survey sent from the city to residents in Uptown sought input on whether or not the connector was something they would like to see. About 78% of survey takers were supportive of this project and 18 percent were not supportive.
“The purpose of the survey was to understand the level of support in the Uptown area among residents who would potentially use the connection,” Engineering Supervisor Stephen Craver said at the time.
