During city budget work sessions on April 17 and 18 and a Sedona in Motion project update meeting on April 24, Sedona city staff updated the council on their plans to expand the city’s transit program, the possible arrival of microtransit vehicles in July and the success of one SIM project in saving about 30 seconds of travel time.

Budget

City staff’s proposed budget for transit for fiscal year 2025, prior to council adjustments, was $3,332,250. Planned capital expenditures in addition to the operational budget are $520,000 for design work on the proposed bus maintenance facility, $236,000 for acquiring more buses, $75,000 for bus stop improvements, $20,000 for maintenance of the former Chevron station property the city acquired at the “Y” roundabout, $650,000 for a new parking lot off State Route 179 and $400,000 for redesign of the intersection leading to the proposed maintenance facility.

Transit

Transit administrator Robert Weber informed the council on April 24 that the city has received $2,062,225 in federal funding since June 2020 against a city match of $326,607. Weber described the city’s federal funding level as “less than it should be.”

The trailhead shuttle has now carried approximately 704,801 boardings since launching late in March 2022. Average daily boardings were 1,439 in December 2023, 1,255 in January, 1,469 in February, 1,951 in March and 1,953 in April. Average daily boardings over the lifetime of the program are estimated at 1,422.

“They’re off about 9%,” Weber said of total April boardings, which were 48,822 against 60,494 in March. “Last year when I looked at the numbers, it seemed like spring break came in like a lamb and left like a lion, and this year it looks like it’s going the other way.”

“Typically we’re seeing five to eight passengers per hour on that mode of service,” Weber had previously told council during the budget work session on April 17. Shuttle capacity is limited in part by the city’s U.S. Forest Service permit, which restricts it to delivering a maximum of 300 passengers per day to the Soldier Pass trailhead.

Weber also announced progress on the city’s acquisition of vehicles for its proposed on-demand microtransit service, which is two years behind schedule. “Two buses have physically arrived in Phoenix for their outfits,” Weber informed the council. “The other three have been manufactured and are en route from Massachusetts.” The vans will have to be wrapped and have TVs installed to display city tourism messaging before going into service. “My hope, and I know I’m on camera here … we could launch July 4 weekend.”

Fares for microtransit service will be $2 for regular passengers and $1 for passengers who fall into a discounted category. Council also directed staff to begin looking into collecting fares on the trailhead shuttles, which Weber said would cost about $38,000 for the necessary equipment.

“Round-trip fares I wouldn’t recommend because not everybody uses those shuttles for round trips,” Weber said.

In response to an inquiry by Councilman Pete Furman, Weber clarified that the city’s only obligation in return for the federal funds it has so far received for design work on the planned maintenance facility, which is proposed to cost a total of $25,356,576 through 2028 if built, is to continue the design work using the $720,000 grant the city has already received. ADOT has additionally awarded the city Federal Transit Administration funding to cover 85% of the cost of a sixth microtransit vehicle.

“[We] don’t have data, but anecdotally and intuitively, I’d say we are,” Weber said when questioned about whether the shuttles were reducing traffic.

Capital Projects

Two city projects having the potential to provide shortterm improvements in traffic delays have experienced a series of long-term delays.

The Forest Road extension project, approved in October 2019, is now 45% percent complete and public works staff project it will be finished in March 2025. According to the FY25 budget, the total cost of the Forest Road extension has now risen to $21,002,901 from previous estimates of $2,772,047 in October 2019 and $1.3 million in April 2017.

The sidewalk underpass at the Schnebly Hill Road roundabout has likewise been delayed by 142 days per the draft budget due to the high water levels in the creek in the spring of 2023 and permitting delays. The underpass is currently 60% complete and is scheduled for completion on July 9.

Uptown Updates

Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey and consultant Andrew Baird of KimleyHorn explained to council that part of the recentlycompleted Uptown northbound improvement project, which involved widening portions of the northbound stretch of State Route 89A to two lanes to encourage merging and add space for more cars, was not working as planned due to driver behavior.

While Dickey outlined that the two-land stretch of road immediately past the Forest Road intersection had initially been striped to allow the use of both lanes as queuing space, “the traffic was not following the striping,” Baird said. “They were utilizing additional lane space and jumping the lines and trying to pass cars … Ultimately what was created here was perceived in some cases as a passing lane.”

“It ran for a week, I think it was … where we were observing during that time and observing that it wasn’t operating efficiently that way,” Dickey said.

As a result, the city has had to adjust the timing of the traffic light at Forest Road to eliminate simultaneous northbound flow of traffic and left-hand turning movements from Forest, and is also proposing a public education campaign using bumper stickers to encourage “zipper” merging.

“There’s a certain education component here in terms of what needs to be conveyed to the traveling public,” Baird said. Dickey proposed that the city collaborate with Jeep tour companies to have them require their drivers to zipper merge to set an example for visitors.

Councilwoman Melissa Dunn suggested the bumper stickers should instruct drivers to “be courteous” for greater effectiveness.

The bumper sticker campaign will be accompanied by the replacement of the history walk panels along the sidewalk along SR 89A, which will feature content that Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella described as needing to be “representative of … the vision that we want to put out there.”

As for the effectiveness of the Amara turn lane construction in reducing traffic, Baird noted that the average travel time from the “Y” roundabout to Rainbow Trout Farm Road in Oak Creek Canyon on a Saturday had been reduced from 8.7 minutes in 2022 to 8.2 minutes in 2023, while Friday travel times were reduced from 8.2 minutes to 7.7 minutes.

Councilman Brian Fultz suggested the city start sending out messages to tell people to stay home on days when traffic along State Route 179 reaches Bell Rock Boulevard. “It’s a catastrophe,” said Fultz, who lives in the Chapel neighborhood.* “It took [me] 14 minutes to go the 1.8 miles to the Y [from Poco Diablo] and I would call that an excess travel day.”

Editor’s note: The print version of this story incorrectly stated that Fultz lives off Back O’ Beyond Road on the opposite side of SR 179.