The city of Sedona often finds itself playing peacemaker between two opposing sides of an issue. Sometimes an amicable solution can’t be found but in this case, it appears one may have been. 
By a unanimous vote, the Sedona City Council approved a contract in the amount of $73,000 with Hoskin Ryan Consultants Inc, for design of the Posse Ground and Soldier Pass Road Trail and Parking Improvements on Tuesday, Sept. 10. 

This design will include new parking at the north end of Posse Grounds Park property and a walking/biking path connecting the parking to and along Soldier Pass Road and ending at Rim Shadows Drive. “No Parking” signs would also be placed along that portion of Soldier Pass Road.

Once the proposed improvements are installed, parking restrictions would be implemented within the public right-of-way north of Carruth Drive near the current dog park. If the project moves forward, it carries an estimated price tag of $600,000 with the type of surface material to be determined during the design phase. Work would include the three-quarter-mile-long trail itself, a paved 30- to 40-spot parking lot and a restroom. The design phase will begin immediately with work — if approved by council — beginning this fiscal year and finishing in the following one.

In response to requests from residents, the city requested the U.S. Forest Service implement restrictions, a report states. Through this process the city paid for a National Environmental Protection Act study to help move the effort along. Eventually, the Forest Service decided it would not fully close the trailhead but would restrict vehicle access to permitted vehicles only, which included one commercial operator and up to 12 recreational permits per day. Not long after this effort started, residents in the Shadow Estates Homeowners Association area requested that the city restrict parking in the neighborhood due to trailhead parking spilling over into their neighborhood.

Specifically, neighbors have cited the following issues:

• Parking as a nuisance.
• Parking creating a safety issue by restricting adequate lane width.
• The nuisance relating to visitors gathering their gear and belongings outside their vehicles before their hike.
• Trash and litter associated with visitor staging.
• Visitors relieving themselves on vacant lots.
• Safety issues with visitors walking on the road where lane width is already reduced due to parked vehicles.

The report states the city and property owners first tried incremental methods to address the issues like placing boulders in strategic locations, adding striping and signage to improve traffic circulation. The issues continued and residents renewed a request to restrict public parking.

“The city has been very cautious about one-off restrictions without creating alternatives because limiting the supply of parking pushes demand onto other areas of the system,” it states. “Doing this repeatedly creates a worsening of parking problems as demand is shifted to an ever diminishing system.”

Council later agreed with a staff recommendation to try restricting parking nearest to the trailhead. This was based on restricting parking on the street within the area of housing development east of Soldier Pass Road. The west side did not include restrictions. As for alternatives, the city has teamed with the Sedona Chamber of Commerce to include information to visitors that Jim Thompson Trailhead is available and can be used to access the same areas as the Soldier Pass Trailhead. City Engineer Andy Dickey said that he has met with the Homeowner’s Association in that area to discuss possible alternatives.

Many requested that the trailhead be closed but the U.S. Forest Service, which owns and oversees the trailhead, has said that’s not going to happen. He said other city suggestions have found little support. But of those handful of residents who spoke this week at council, they said they would be in favor of this pathway. Once the design phase is complete, the item will come back before council for possible approval. Between now and then the city plans to have additional community outreach to gather input from residents.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com