For those who enjoy walking, jogging or biking, by this time next year you will have another pathway in the city to do so safely.

By a 6-1 vote the Sedona City Council approved a construction contract in the amount of $2,058,728 for the Thunder Mountain/Sanborn Roadway, Shared Use Path and Drainage Improvements Project.

Sedona’s Tiffany Construction, which has handled several city projects over the years, was the low bidder and was awarded the contract.

Councilman John Currivan was the dissenting vote. Currivan stated he didn’t agree with the width of the pathway, that there were no provisions in place for safely crossing the roadway to get onto the path, and he thinks it will not reduce vehicular traffic.

The project will increase drainage capacity across some locations of Thunder Mountain Road to get more runoff to the Harmony/Windsong Phase 4 inlet structure, a city report states. The design work will also include the exten­sion of existing drainage culverts along the project corridor to accommodate the installation of the 1-mile long, 8-to-10- foot wide concrete shared-use path. The improvements will advance flood protec­tion, pedestrian and bike access, and safety, city officials said last year when the design phase was approved.

“The intention of this is to eventu­ally connect one side of West Sedona to the other — off the highway, protected and off the street,” City Engineer Andy Dickey said. He later added, “The main purpose of this project is for it to be multi-modal.”

The city sent out 1,400 letters during the summer of 2019 notifying residents living between State Route 89A and the northern city limits as to what was being proposed, Dickey said. The city also sent additional information and sought input from 90 properties along the proposed pathway corridor. As of this week, 46 residents had not responded to the city, 28 expressed support and 11 were in opposition. Of the 21 prop­erties for which temporary construc­tion easements have been requested, 10 have expressed support, seven have expressed opposition and four have not indicated either.

A few of those opposed spoke at the council meeting and expressed concerns about devalued property, cost and detriment to the environ­ment, as well as questioning the need for the pathway at all.

Dickey said work is scheduled to begin in mid-October with a completed date slated for next July.

The work for the project includes:

• A 2-inch milling of existing roadway surface and a 2-inch overlay of new asphalt paving on the 1-mile segment between the east end of the Thunder Mountain Subdivision and Coffee Pot Drive.

• New 6-inch vertical curb and gutter along the south side of the road from the east end of the Thunder Mountain subdivision to Rodeo Road, and new rolled curb and gutter along the south side of the road between Rodeo Road and Coffee Pot Drive.

• A 10-foot wide Sedona red concrete shared-use path along the south side of the road from the east end of the Thunder Mountain subdivision to Rodeo Road, and an 8-foot wide shared-use path along the south side of the road between Rodeo Road and Coffee Pot Drive.

• Centerline striping and signage along the shared use path for safety.

• Accessible ramps at all street intersections.

• Residential driveway recon­struction as needed to match the new elevation at the south edge of the new shared use path and smoothing out of the transition.

• Retaining walls to contain fill that supports the shared use path.

• Miscellaneous drainage improvements and culvert exten­sions between Andante Drive and Coffee Pot Drive to provide the area needed for the shared-use path [some existing culvert ends are too close to the road edge]. Drainage improvements are also needed to collect runoff from the new curb and gutter and convey it to existing drainage courses.

• Crushed red rock hardscaping along the shared use path.

• Existing mailboxes on the south side of the road will be moved to the north side.

“I don’t look at this as a project intended to get cars off the road,” Mayor Sandy Moriarty said. “I look at it as a project to get people off the road. They’re walking in the street when they should be using some­thing more safe. That’s what this shared-use path is about.”