Revitalizing the West End

Thank you for your suggestions! We do look for opportunities to add art into the West End. We've had success with the addition of numerous murals in the last several years, with business leveraging our matching grant program and Liberty being willing to use a water tower for the large hummingbird mural. We will absolutely consider additional ways to incorporate art, history, and possibly interactive elements like the music instruments you mention as we make more progress in the West End. 

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) governs the design and placement of signs. It does not mandate a specific roadway cross section as those will vary based on the circumstances. In our case, we put the landscaping buffer adjacent to the roadway for a few different reasons:

1. The Fry project makes use of low-impact development (LID) whereby stormwater is collected in landscaped areas adjacent to the street. The West End of Sierra Vista predates modern stormwater regulations, and flooding has been a problem for years. The landscaped areas adjacent to the street help to collect the stormwater and allow it to infiltrate rather than flooding downstream areas.
2. The inclusion of on-street parking also had an impact on where we put designated bike areas. When bike lanes are put next to on-street parking, there is the potential for a motorist to “door” a bicyclist. The driver doesn’t seen the bicyclist approaching, opens their door, and the bicycle crashes into it.
3. Pedestrians prefer a buffer between the roadway and designated walking areas. As vehicles speeds increase, walking right next to moving vehicles becomes more uncomfortable. You see this on both MLK and Avenida Cochise, which have both a sidewalk adjacent to the road and a separated multi-use path. Pedestrians prefer the multi-use path and rarely use the sidewalk.
4. Street trees are common in many areas and shade both the roadway and adjacent pedestrian areas. As the trees get bigger, they will be trimmed by the Parks Department so that their limbs are above site vision areas. The tree trunks don’t end up being any more of an obstruction than electrical poles, streetlights, or any other vertical element which is found in the public right-of-way.  Also, with vehicle speeds on Fry Blvd being reduced as part of the project, cars pulling from side streets and driveways have more opportunity to perceive and react to oncoming vehicles.

Hi Ron! Thank you for your suggestion. There certainly is a lot of natural and cultural history here, and a museum is a terrific idea and the West End has been on our radar for a museum location for many years. Moving this multi-million dollar project forward would be a heavy lift, and the City would welcome a conversation with a partner organization. 

You may be able to take advantage of our matching grant program for the West Sierra Vista Redevelopment Area. You can access the application here: https://www.sierravistaaz.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/5826/637951094896430000. For more information, you can email Community Development Director Matt McLachlan at Matt.McLachlan@SierraVistaAZ.gov. 

Phase 2 of this project will extend the improvements north along Garden Avenue and is currently under design, with construction expected in 2023. After that we will begin work on Phase 3, which will extend the streetscape east along Fry Boulevard with the potential to go as far as 7th Street (the eastern boundary of the West End). 

Only the Orange and Red Vista Transit routes travel along West Fry and North Garden, and there is currently only one Transit stop in the redevelopment area, on North Garden.  Motorists, including Vista Transit buses, will still be able to drive along both roadways during construction. The stop on North Garden may be temporarily relocated during construction, and the City will be sure to announce any changes as far in advance as possible.

The City has enacted an architecture and design review process for new commercial buildings and exterior façade modifications that require a building permit.  Exterior walls and roofs are required to use muted and earth tone colors with a light reflectance value of 50% or less.  Bright colors may be used for accents.  For more specifics on other design requirements, you can view this section of Code here:  https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/sierravista/latest/sierravista_az/0-0-0-20683

Public artwork/murals placed on existing buildings on private property do not require a permit and therefore are not regulated by the City. 

Implementing a moratorium on new commercial development that is tied to the vacancy rate has not been considered by the City and is prevented by state law.  ARS 9-463.06 provides standards and limitations for enactment of moratoriums that reserve their use for situations involving a shortage of available infrastructure or public facilities: https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/9/00463-06.htm

The City has indeed used an array of incentives to attract private interest and investment to the West End. This has been a major focus in recent years. These programs offer expedited permitting, waivers to plan review and permit fees, measured relief from certain development code provisions and from separation requirements for alcoholic beverage establishments. The City has also designated a section of the West End as a redevelopment area. This designation enables the City to provide matching grant assistance toward fixing up older properties to meet code and improve their appearance and functionality. This grant program has been used by several property owners to improve their sites in the West End. You can learn more in the cover story of the Summer 2020 issue of our print newsletter “Vistas” available here: http://docserve.sierravistaaz.gov/Home/Vistas%20Archive/2020%20June-July%20Summer%20Issue.pdf