Sedona council authorizes applications for two U.S. DOT BUILD grants for shared‑use path and roundabout

The Sedona City Council on Jan. 27 authorized staff to submit two grant applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation's BUILD program, seeking federal funds for multimodal projects the city says will improve pedestrian safety and traffic operations in Uptown Sedona. One application seeks approximately $2.3 million to construct the Coffee Pot shared‑use path; the second seeks federal support for the SIM 5D Brewer–Ranger roundabout and associated work, where staff said the application amount would be $3.6 million against a total project cost of about $5.4 million and the city would propose a local match in its FY27 budget.

City staff said the Coffee Pot path design is roughly 90% complete, that it would close a walking loop from SR 89A to Sanborn and address blind corners and missing pedestrian facilities, and that the Coffee Pot application requires no local match. The roundabout project, presented as part of the Sedona Transportation Master Plan and the Sedona in Motion program, would convert a three‑way stop at Brewer and Ranger into a roundabout and extend Ranger Road toward SR 89A; staff cited traffic modeling that identified the roundabout as the most efficient, safest configuration for the location.

"This is about multimodal connectivity, emergency access and reducing congestion," a staff presenter said while reviewing outreach and design refinements, including storm‑drain improvements and a shared‑use path that will tie into adjacent sidewalks and future sections of the system.

Council members pressed staff on several technical and local concerns: one member asked about the single remaining easement and where it lies; another asked how a new roundabout at Brewer and Ranger would affect downstream intersections (notably Ranger at SR 179). Staff responded that projects are intended to operate together, and pointed to adaptive signal technology and a proposed auxiliary right‑turn lane at Ranger/179 as complementary measures.

Business owners and residents who said they operate in the immediate project footprint urged caution. PJ Milani, who identified himself as the owner of the Heart store building in Uptown Sedona, said the roundabout and associated lane shifts would reduce the property's on‑site parking and could "negatively impact" his business unless staff provided concrete accommodations during design and construction. Staff said they are working on public parking replacements, driveway reconfiguration options and outreach to adjacent property owners but could not yet finalize details while design and easement negotiations continue.

Council members emphasized the difference between approving a grant application and approving construction funding. The motions that passed authorize only submittal of the BUILD applications and include direction that staff continue to work with affected owners to reduce construction impacts if grants are awarded. The Coffee Pot application was approved first; the authorization to apply for the roundabout application passed separately. Staff said they will pursue additional funding sources if the BUILD awards do not come through.

Next steps: staff will prepare and submit the federal applications by the announced deadlines, continue design coordination and outreach, and return to council for contract and construction authorizations if and when grants are awarded.