We strongly commend the Sedona City Council for moving forward with a parking garage in Uptown.
We have long advocated for such a structure, which would alleviate the parking problems on State Route 89A and the residential neighborhoods.
Over the last two decades, we have suggested and pushed numerous Sedona City Councils to look into parking lots, parking improvements and parking garages, even working with property owners at and around our own newsroom in Uptown to discuss possible acquisition of land for the city to build a garage. We included two potential parking garages in our two-page “A Comprehensive List of Potential Improvements to Fix Sedona Traffic” spread and map in November 2015.
Last year, as part of the Sedona in Motion program, the city began to seriously look at parking solutions in Uptown again. Having been through this cycle many times before, we expected Sedona City Council to look at the options, deem a parking garage absolutely necessary, vacillate on a location, balk at the expense and kick the can down the road to yet another council two or four or 10 years down the line.
Instead, we were pleasantly surprised to see that this council has the wherewithal to commit to building a parking garage in Uptown.
The costs for such a structure are substantial: The national average is $20,000 to $30,000 per parking space. With Sedona’s inflated construction costs, the cost for a potential garage is $33,0000 to $39,000 per space with an additional $800,000 allocated to buy one open lot and one lot with a home on it. But the cost is well worth the investment.
The city of Sedona has substantial savings and steady annual income and can afford to build such a structure to help prevent tourists from clogging State Route 89A and residential streets.
Properly marked directionals off Forest Road and the new spur from the northernmost roundabout could substantially alleviate pressure on parking, reduce the number of drivers cruising down State Route 89A at 10 mph under the limit, looking for one of the coveted parking spots like it was El Dorado.
Instead, they can either hang a right or left, depending on direction of travel, and go to the parking garage. The structure will likely include one floor that is partially or fully underground, so it will remain relatively low so as to not disrupt Uptown’s general aesthetic.
The city has found two willing sellers and is making inroads to purchase their land. This responsible and responsive process to acquire land at a fair price and build a project to benefit the public will also serve as a model when council and the city begin looking to buy land in West Sedona to build neighborhood connections — short roads connecting residential streets that are currently vehicular peninsulas and dead ends that force all drivers onto State Route 89A even if they only want to go one street over.
The parking garage process will demonstrate to property owners that the city wants to negotiate in good faith and offer fair deals to acquire easements that benefit everyone.
Construction on a garage will not begin overnight. Council still has to vote on the actual proposal, vote on a design and vote to award the contract to a builder, but these are short steps toward what is effectively a done deal.
Again, we thank the Sedona City Council for making a concrete decision — literally — and putting the collective community interest first.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
