With tourism doing better in Sedona than expected, the city will soon be reinstating parking fees in Uptown.
Effective Monday, Oct. 12, those seeking to park in the 90-plus stalls on State Route 89A in Uptown will be required to pay to do so.
At the request of many Uptown merchants, the paid parking program was suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over the last several months visitation appears to be returning to something more normal,” Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director Karen Osburn said. “We also see other communities that had suspended parking fees due to COVID now reinstating those.”
Community Service Aides will also return to Uptown on Oct. 12 to educate visitors, assist in the use of the parking app and issue warnings for violations. Ticketing will not resume immediately.
The Sedona Chamber of Commerce has been querying merchants throughout the year to solicit their input on the timing of reinstating paid parking, Osburn said. While most merchants requested the fees be suspended over the summer, the latest outreach had more merchants supporting the October reinstatement.
“Some reported having issues with employees using this parking since it is free,” she said. “Others commented about the desire to accelerate the construction of the parking garage, and recognizing this as an important revenue source to move that project forward.”
Sedona City Council and Uptown merchants agreed when the parking meters were installed that the money would be used for Uptown improvements, with merchants having a say in the matter. The money that was in the fund was earmarked for the building of a municipal parking garage on Forest Road.
“The fund has been depleted with the purchase of the land for the parking structure and several other smaller projects previously initiated by the Uptown Parking Advisory Committee,” Osburn said. “The bulk of the future paid parking revenue generated will be pledged to the garage project with a smaller contribution from transportation sales tax revenue.”
