The concrete is up at 430 and 460 Forest Road. The public parking area on Forest Road is still closed. Crews still close a short stretch of road in front of the site from time to time, and anyone driving past should expect lane restrictions, reduced speeds and construction noise. Work on the Uptown Parking Garage started in late May 2025. The first target was spring break 2026, then June.
Meanwhile, the City Council has already approved maximum hourly rates for the garage and meters, and it has told staff to get a residential permit zone ready for a future vote. None of it has started, because the garage has to open first. Before the garage can open, it needs bigger water lines.
The pipe sets the schedule
The delay comes down to fire sprinklers. Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey told Council that water in the 6-inch main feeding the garage's sprinkler lines moves faster than plumbing codes allow, so the line needs new 10-inch pipe. Arizona Water Co. decided to install a 16-inch main instead and pay the extra cost itself, as Sedona Red Rock News reported on Sept. 4. In the same story, Dickey said fast water can scour the inside of a pipe, "kind of like rubbing sandpaper on the inside of the pipe."
On Aug. 25, Council approved a $3,741,285.50 contract with J. Banicki Construction. About $2.54 million covers Forest Road improvements and roughly $1.2 million covers the water-system upgrades. On Oct. 27, Council approved the agreement with Arizona Water Co. 7-0. Red Rock News put that agreement at $3.95 million and quoted Dickey on where the opening date stands:
"We do not have a changed timeline for opening the garage at this point."
The most recent timeline from the City was December or January. The project's own website lists completion as early 2027. The project cost is about $28.25 million, which includes a roughly $1.2 million settlement with McCarthy that Council had already approved.
Everything else in the parking plan follows in this order:
- Water main upgrades let the garage's sprinkler system meet code.
- The garage opens.
- City staff watch Uptown. Staff told Council they want to monitor Uptown for at least six months after the garage opens.
- The residential permit program comes back to Council for a vote, if conditions meet the triggers Council set.
What parking costs today, and the caps Council approved
For now, Uptown runs on the system locals already know. The City's Uptown parking page lists two free all-day lots and four free 3-hour lots. Main Street meters run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, and parking there is free before 9 and after 6. Meter rates rise the longer you stay: the first 15 minutes are free, the first three hours cost $2 an hour, the fourth hour costs $4 and the fifth costs $6.
On Aug. 25, Council unanimously approved maximum rates for the Uptown meters, the garage and the Sacajawea Plaza surface lot. Red Rock News called it "the framework for a future in which all public parking in Uptown has a fee."
| Where | Maximum rate | Peak-season maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Uptown garage and City Lot 5 | $2.50 per hour | $3.50 per hour |
| SR 89A and Jordan Road meters | $4 per hour, three-hour limit | $5 per hour |
Peak season under the approved schedule is March through May and September through November. Fees would apply from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and no parking would be allowed from midnight to 5 a.m. These numbers are ceilings. At the same meeting, Councilman Pete Furman asked whether the City had ever set a fee schedule and then charged less than it allowed. Council also told staff to start lease negotiations for surface parking lots.
Van Deren Road comes up twice
The permit zone and the water work overlap on one street. The proposed residential permit program covers three Uptown streets: Van Deren, Price and Smith roads, between Schnebly Road on the north and Forest Road on the south. Once it takes effect, nonresidents could no longer park on those streets. Visitors would use the garage or other public and private lots.
Any one of six conditions could trigger the program:
- Emergency access or public safety is compromised
- Garage traffic spills onto residential streets
- Residents report problems
- Parking use and occupancy data show a need
- The Parking Work Group recommends it
- Council directs it
Right now the City calls this stage "readiness." Staff are getting everything in place while they watch conditions after the garage and the employee parking program start. The full program still needs a Council vote. As of the Sept. 5 report, the City hadn't decided between physical placards and a digital database, or how residents would register their vehicles. Sedona Police would enforce the program with mobile license plate readers. In a post quoted in that story, the City said Council approved a data policy on Jan. 27, 2026. The policy limits the plate readers to parking, prohibits law enforcement or surveillance use, and bars sharing data with outside agencies.
Van Deren is also where the second phase of the water work goes. Phase 2 replaces the main along Van Deren Road from Forest Road to Schnebly Road. In September, the City estimated that phase at about $2.5 million, with construction starting next summer at the earliest and finishing in December 2027. So Van Deren Road could get a new water main and, if the triggers are met and Council votes for it, a permit program over the next year or so.
What the garage adds
The project's June 26 status sheet lists about 270 parking spaces and a Sedona Shuttle stop inside the garage. The project site says Sedona residents can use the garage to visit Uptown or catch the shuttle. The City is also studying a fixed-route Uptown circulator that would connect the garage with Uptown, Tlaquepaque and Hillside. That is still a feasibility study.
Walking will get easier too. The Forest Road improvements include sidewalks on both the north and south sides, running from the garage to the existing sidewalks along State Route 89A.
The employee side isn't settled yet. In August, Council heard a proposal for free parking for registered carpools of two or more, $2 a day for an employee driving alone, and a $25 monthly pass. Council didn't adopt it and sent it back for changes that would lower costs for employees and avoid a gift-clause issue. The Parking Work Group has written a new recommendation for Council. This matters for neighbors because the City says it plans to monitor parking after the garage opens and after the employee program starts.
This holiday season, Uptown runs on the current system
With the garage not expected before winter, the free lots and current meter rates should still be in place for Uptown's busiest weekends this fall.
- Sedona Mountain Bike Festival: Friday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 8, according to the festival schedule.
- Sedona Shuttle holiday service: daily Nov. 19 through 29 except Thanksgiving Day, then extra daily service Dec. 17 through 24. Service also runs Dec. 26 through 31 and Jan. 1 through 3, 2027, according to the shuttle's rider page.
- Tree Lighting at Tlaquepaque North: Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., per Tlaquepaque's events page.
Council's work session to set 2027 priorities is scheduled for Dec. 15 to 17. For construction questions on Forest Road, the garage project hotline is (928) 852-4164. The rates, triggers and dates in this post are approved ceilings and City plans, not rules in effect today. This is general information, so check posted signs and Council decisions for the rules that actually apply.
If you own on Van Deren, Price or Smith, or anywhere in Uptown, and want to talk through how the garage, the permit zone and the water work could affect your street, I'm glad to sit down with you and walk your block together. Reach out to Jess Savoini, and let's connect.
