Editorial cartoonist Rob Pudim provides us several cartoons each week, but the one in this edition is not new. It was actually first published Nov. 5, 1997 — 18 years ago, but it remains as relevant as ever.
We all know Sedona’s traffic is awful and it’s only been getting worse. There is a host of causes for the uptick: More tourists who visit, more residents who commute, lack of alternative transportation, narrow streets and a limited number of connecting routes.
Every person in Sedona heading from the Y intersection to Soldier Pass Road must take the same road. There is no alternate route, no back road. That is insane. No city with the numbers of people we see annually is so poorly planned.
We witnessed how reckless, time-consuming and downright stupid such a lack of planning is following a terrible accident last year that closed that bottleneck in both directions for hours. A crash between Art Barn Road and the switchbacks, or from Ranger Road to Beaverhead Flat Road could shutdown a major through-road for hours with no alternate route as an option.
In the statistical improbability of two major accidents at the bottlenecks, the city’s traffic flow would be crippled for hours, not only annoying those who drive, but potentially affecting the ability of police and fire crews from responding in the interim.
In November, we published a two-page spread listing potential solutions to alleviate traffic. We have shared the map with city leaders and offered it free and in full on our website redrocknews.com. The feedback has been positive, but positivity doesn’t pour asphalt.
The city has hired a firm to conduct a traffic study, but results are several months away. What the study reveals is less important than what city leaders plan to do with it.
Once the study’s results are in, City Council must act. Build new roads, widen old roads, pave dirt roads, build bridges, whatever the study says will do the most good with the least amount of time and spending.
If the study suggests a tunnel under Airport Mesa right to the Village of Oak Creek is a good idea, City Council better have dynamite, pickaxe and shovel wholesalers on the phone within the hour.
As we near the City Council election, every candidate will say “traffic” is a top campaign issue. We know that already.
It now falls to us, the voters, to challenge each candidate to provide specifics.
An alternate route?
Wider roads?
A bypass to take traffic off State Route 89A in West Sedona?
A monorail?
Flying monkeys genetically engineered by Uber to carry passengers?
Candidates should not win votes unless they offer workable plans and promise to get started implementing them on day one.
NIMBYs will fight every inch of improvement, but leaders must steel themselves to resist caving to this vocal sliver and build what’s necessary for the community as a whole. This same group of malcontents hate our leaders no matter what they do, so officials should earn their ire by actually getting something accomplished.
We don’t elect leaders who bend to the loudest
single voice, but those who look at the big picture
and do what’s best for the whole community.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
