Daily Archives: March 20, 2017

County Supervisor hosts “Grappling with Gridlock” Community Forum

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FLAGSTAFF – “Grappling with Gridlock,” from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Thursday, March 30, 2017 at the Museum of Northern Arizona’s Branigar-Chase Auditorium. Participation is limited to the first 100 people who register online at https://gridlock.eventbrite.com. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum begins promptly at 6 p.m.

For those unable to attend the March 30 event, Babbott has scheduled a follow-up discussion from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., April 6 in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at 219 E. Cherry Ave. Flagstaff. The public is invited to attend and no registration is required for this event.

Tens of thousands of visitors come to northern Arizona on weekends for recreation. Traffic congestion and gridlock on the Highway 180 scenic corridor north and west of Flagstaff sometimes reach extreme levels, creating negative impacts on emergency services, traffic enforcement, and quality of life for both residents and visitors.

Babbott considers traffic gridlock on the 180 corridor a public safety crisis and is determined to find relief for residents. “When it takes two hours to go eight miles, there is no way first responders — including police and ambulance service providers — can serve our neighborhoods and communities effectively,” said Babbott.

Several participants in the forum will give short presentations on the impacts of 180 gridlock, including local resident Adam Diebel, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll, Arizona Department of Transportation Engineer Audra Merrick, Coconino National Forest Supervisor Laura Jo West, and Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans.

Babbott will be seeking ideas and perspectives from all participants, especially those directly affected by the traffic congestion. He will also be seeking input on three proposals for relief that fit within current funding and political realities. Two of the proposals would create local funding sources for alternative means of transport to and from recreational hotspots. The third would enable a temporary alternative route to Interstate 40 when needed.

Babbott’s proposals will depend on public-private partnerships to be successful. “The gridlock, congestion, quality of life and public safety issues surrounding peak demand weekends on the Highway 180 corridor can only be addressed by bold and innovative actions,” said Babbott. “I’m counting on everyone to roll up their sleeves to help make gridlock a thing of the past.”

Kaibab to conduct Outfitter-Guide Needs Assessment, Capacity Study

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FREDONIA – Due to increasing demand and visitor use on the Rainbow Rim Trail continuing to trend upward, recreation planners on the North Kaibab Ranger District will immediately conduct an outfitter-guide needs assessment followed by a capacity analysis to determine use within the vicinity of this increasingly popular recreation site on the Kaibab National Forest.

On Feb. 1, the North Kaibab Ranger District determined the imminent need to place a hold on all “new” special-use permits for all commercial uses on the Rainbow Rim. Under the current Land and Resource Management Plan for the Kaibab National Forest, special-use permits are characterized as a partnership between the Forest Service and private businesses, academia, non-governmental organizations, or individuals in order to provide specific services to the public on forest lands. Authorization of these special-use permits supports the Forest Service mission, helps meet demonstrated public needs, and is consistent with the desired conditions for the use area.

“Our intent is to provide better service to our special-use permit holders and quality experiences for the public,” said North Kaibab Natural Resources Specialist Dan Gunn.

Under the direction of the Recreation Special Uses Handbook, Forest Service policy requires that a needs assessment be conducted to determine the public or agency need for authorized outfitting and guiding activities. The process is anticipated to take up to one year to complete. In the interim, district staff will not process any “new” outfitter-guide applications for use on the Rainbow Rim.

This will not impact operations for outfitters and guides with “existing” permit-use on the Rainbow Rim or any special-use permit holders for activities outside the Rainbow Rim vicinity, and applications for areas outside the Rainbow Rim vicinity will continue to be accepted.

“With a large increase in demand for outfitter and guide requests, we want to exercise our due diligence by re-assessing and identifying visitor needs, determining if current use for the area aligns with desired conditions and adjusting our business model accordingly,” said Gunn. “Upon completion of the capacity study, we will have the most recent data and analysis available, which will help identify a reasonable level of “use” specific to the Rainbow Rim, ensure that “use” aligns with desired conditions of the forest plan, and ensure our recreation partner’s and visitor’s needs are appropriately met while continuing to improve the overall visitor experience.”

Upon completion of the needs assessment and capacity analysis, the data collected will aid recreation planners in drafting a Rainbow Rim management plan intended to tailor a manageable pool of outfitter and guide permit holders specifically tied to the Rainbow Rim, improve management practices and public services local to the area and increase overall quality of the user experience.

For further information, please contact Dan Gunn at degunn@fs.fed.us.

Snow in forecast

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WILLIAMS – Happy Spring. While we have been enjoying spring weather for over a week, many may have forgotten that winter does not necessarily rest in peace. There is a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday after 11 a.m. followed by snow overnight and Thursday throughout the day. A slight chance of snow and showers exists over Thursday night. Though the wet weather will clear for the weekend, temperatures are expected to dip to the high-50s during the day and the 30s overnight through Sunday. Less than an inch of new snow accumulation is expected.