A proposed $50M Lone Tree Rd. overpass at Route 66 was voted down by the city council as too expensive, while the proposed Juniper Point mixed-use development will begin certain improvements with a groundbreaking set for next year:
Juniper Point neighborhood center and housing mix
(renders: Dover, Kohl & Partners)
Lone Tree overpass off ballot
by JOE FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
May 12, 2010
A $50 million bridge over the railroad tracks connecting Lone Tree Road to East Route 66 is not in Flagstaff's immediate future. A majority of the Flagstaff City Council rejected asking voters this November to bond for a four-lane overpass. The rejection came despite support for the overpass from both Mayor Sara Presler and Councilmember Scott Overton. The pair felt that the bridge might convince state highway officials to jump-start plans to connect Interstate 40 to the southern end of Lone Tree Road with a new interchange.
Instead, the council leaned toward putting a total of five projects worth $72 million on this November's ballot.
-- $30 million for a new public works center
-- $23 million for a new city court
-- $12 million to complete various improvement projects in the Sunnyside neighborhood
-- $4.7 in improvements to the public safety radio system
-- $1 million for a water quality study of the Red Gap Ranch aquifer.
The eventual decision on what will go on the November ballot will rest with the new city council this June. Overton, who sits on a regional planning board that focuses solely on transportation issues, contended Tuesday night that the proposed Lone Tree Overpass could help sway the Arizona Department of Transportation to put a traffic interchange at the other side of Lone Tree along Interstate 40.
A city study showed the main impact of an overpass would be to reduce traffic volume on Southside connector streets, not in the congested Milton Road corridor. After losing the vote, Overton said he wanted to see the overpass revisited in a few years as a possible bond question. Presler asked the council to consider another option: phasing the Lone Tree Overpass over a number of years.
NOT IN ADOT PLANS
Currently, ADOT is not including a highway interchange at Lone Tree as part of its five-year plan, said ADOT spokesperson, Rod Wigman. He did note that ADOT is in the midst of studying traffic patterns along I-40 between Bellemont and Winona for possible future construction projects. Overton believes the city has a possible carrot to dangle in front of ADOT: It can help pay for the highway interchange. As part of a development agreement with the city, the developers of Pine Canyon have set aside $1 million for direct access to I-40. The 15-year agreement will expire in a few years, with the funding reverting to the developers if construction of an interchange does not begin.
The developers of Juniper Point is also expected to make improvements to the southern portion of Lone Tree as part of their development agreement with the city. The 1,600-unit, master-planned community is expected to break ground sometime next year.
The cost of building an interchange along I-40 at Lone Tree is estimated to be $25 million, said city staffers. Although a majority of the council said they would eventually like to see a second north-south corridor to alleviate congestion along Milton Road, the $50 million price tag became an obstacle. The city's bonding capacity would technically allow the municipality to bond for several hundred million dollars in projects. But in order to pay back that amount and also pay for the other projects on the list, the city would need to increase secondary property taxes on Flagstaff homeowners. To avoid raising taxes, the city needed to cap the amount it could bond for to $74 million. Vice Mayor Al White said he supports the overpass conceptually but does not want to bond for it right now. He said the city would be better served in a few years when ADOT is in a position to commit to the interchange at I-40.
MAIN IMPACTS IN SOUTHSIDE
The recently released Lone Tree overpass study suggested the proposed bridge over the railroad tracks would only have significant impact on traffic patterns downtown and in the Southside neighborhood. The overpass would primarily divert traffic along portions of San Francisco and Beaver streets near the tracks, according to the city staff-authored report. A 20-year projection of traffic patterns along Butler Avenue and outer Milton Avenue shows little difference, regardless of whether a Lone Tree overpass is built, although the study did not include a new Lone Tree interchange at I-40. The projects adopted by the council Tuesday night largely reflect the recommendations by a 14-member citizen bond advisory task force. The group narrowed down a list of 23 projects to five worth roughly $72 million and made a recommendation to the council earlier this month.