ADOT chain saws are buzzing in the night

UPDATE Friday Aug. 17th

I recieved a phone call late last night (Thurs. Aug. 16th) from someone who heard chain saws buzzing. An ADOT crew, working under the lights, was cutting a large limb from a Sycamore tree in front of the Center for New Age.

While discussions between the Mayor, Senator O'Hallerin, and five ADOT officials was carried out with Wendy (resident manager/Tlaquepaque) in a behind-closed-doors meeting yesterday (Thurs)...the momentum of the work is still well underway. There has been no effort to halt the workers who are installing the infrastructure that is being installed along both sides of the highway at Tlaquepaque. Severe damage to Sycamore tree roots has been done, and is continuing to be done daily/nightly when few people are watching, and NO certified Arborist has been on site to date as ADOT reps stated would be the case. I feel we are being snowed, stalled, and that the way this is going, ADOT has plans to put out for bid next month, the total removal of what I have now counted as 25 Sycamore trees. This does not include the huge Cottonwoods, Oaks, and smaller Willows, Ash, and other trees that are in the work area. This count includes the 9 large Sycamore trees that now have green "save the trees" signs on them. ADOT wants to destroy them to put in the sidewalk. (See...solutions below)

The work that is now going on from Hozo Plaza all the way up to 89A is based on the roundabout location change. If this changes or if it is eliminated, then all of the work that is being done now, will need to be changed, and needless damage to trees could have been eliminated.

ADOT should stop work in any areas that pertain to the roundabout change immediately!
Any work regarding the underground pipes and other infrastructure needs to come to a halt until something is done to protect the trees.

There will be an open meeting today at 5:00pm at the Oak Creek bridge. The meetings have been last minute because of the way information comes to me. The news changes by the minute and I like to hear updates from Wendy first.


Now...here is some good news. I have come up with a few solutions to help save trees.

Solutions:
Anywhere along the North side of Hwy 179 where there are large Sycamore trees (8 or 9 ) and the proposed sidewalk is to plow right through them, ADOT can create an easement around each tree to save all of them. Once this is done, then a serpentine walkway that curves around each tree can be installed on what is now, private property in some of those areas. I would like to see ADOT shine on this, to get creative, and to show the people of Sedona that they are able to work with the environment. Perhaps this was all an oversight, and perhaps whoever ADOT had working the CAD design system didn't have a correct updated tree survey. This could have been an oversight, and this is a way to correct the situation .

There is a 48inch diameter Sycamore tree located close to the existing Oak Creek bridge. The roadway can be altered, perhaps 5ft to the north, to save this Heritage tree that is over 200 years old.

The storm drain location: perhaps ADOT can move this to center line of the new roadway.

End of document*********


Jim Law
Land Art Works
Exec. Producer / VOICE Entertainment