When does it stop being free to drive Uptown for dinner? Most of the coverage points to the new Forest Road garage, as if paid parking starts the day the gates open. The council's actions point to a later date. The garage opening is the starting point. A waiting period follows it, and the fees and the resident permit rules come after that waiting period. The employee parking plan has gone back for revision and has no date at all.
The opening date has moved several times, and the rest of the schedule depends on it, so that's the place to start.
A date that keeps moving
The Uptown Parking Garage at 430 and 460 Forest Road has missed two target dates. Here's the sequence as Sedona Red Rock News reported it on September 4, alongside the city's own project site:
- May 2025: Construction officially begins, aiming for spring break 2026.
- Spring 2026: The target moves to June.
- August 25, 2026: City staff expect work on the garage's serpentine facade to wrap up that day. The council votes 6-0 to approve a $3,741,285.50 contract with J. Banicki Construction for water-main upgrades and Forest Road improvements needed to open the garage.
- September 2026: The garage is expected to open in December or January.
- As of October 10, 2026: The project site lists completion as "Early 2027."
Deputy City Manager Andy Dickey put the total cost at about $28.25 million. He said the August meeting did not add any garage construction costs.
The water work is the less visible reason for the delay. Dickey told the council that water moves through the 6-inch main feeding the garage's sprinkler lines faster than plumbing codes allow, so new pipe is needed. Arizona Water Co. chose to install a 16-inch main and pay the extra cost itself. About $2.54 million of the Banicki contract goes to Forest Road. That includes sidewalks on the north and south sides of the street, running from the garage to the existing sidewalks along State Route 89A.
Another phase is waiting behind this one. The council did not authorize Phase 2, which would carry the water-main upgrade up Van Deren Road and across Schnebly Road to Jordan Road. It's estimated at about $2.5 million. Construction could start next summer at the earliest and finish in December 2027. If Phase 2 is approved, people living on those streets could see more construction after the garage opens.
The rates are set and waiting
At the same August 25 meeting, the council unanimously set maximum parking rates for Uptown's meters, the garage and the Sacajawea Plaza surface lot. Red Rock News described these rates as the framework for "a future in which all public parking in Uptown has a fee."
| Location | Standard max rate | Peak season max rate | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uptown garage and City Lot 5 | $2.50 per hour | $3.50 per hour | None reported |
| SR 89A and Jordan Road meters | $4 per hour | $5 per hour | Three hours |
Peak season covers March through May and September through November. Fees would apply from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and parking would be banned from midnight to 5 a.m.
These numbers are ceilings. During the meeting, Councilman Pete Furman asked whether the city had ever set a fee schedule and then charged less than it allowed. City Manager Anette Spickard couldn't give an example.
The city's own Parking in Uptown page still describes the current setup. It lists "two all-day free lots and four 3-hour free lots" and says Main Street meters are free before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. As of October 2026, both descriptions are on the record: the page shows what's in place today, and the August vote shows where the council is heading.
The six-month window is the real date
None of the August 25 changes take effect soon. The garage isn't expected to open until December or January, and city staff said they want to monitor Uptown for at least six months afterward.
That shifts the calendar. If the garage opens in January 2027, a six-month monitoring period would run to about July 2027, and staff called six months a minimum. Under that schedule, the first peak season the new maximum rates could cover would be fall 2027. That's an estimate built from the city's stated sequence, not a date the city has announced. Each delay to the garage pushes everything after it back too.
This fall's Uptown events happen under the current rules. The City of Sedona lists Fest of Fall and Pumpkin Splash on October 17 and Uptown Trick or Treat on October 31. Events in later years could be handled differently. Councilwoman Charlotte Hosseini asked for a future agenda item on possibly waiving parking fees during special events such as the St. Patrick's Parade.
Three blocks that would get permit parking
The monitoring period also decides when the residential permit program could start. The council voted 5-1 to move it forward, with Councilwoman Kathy Kinsella opposed and Councilwoman Melissa Dunn absent. Dickey said the city intends to bring it back to the council for final approval.
The program would cover three Uptown blocks on Van Deren, Price and Smith roads, between Schnebly Road to the north and Forest Road to the south. Once it's in place, non-residents couldn't park on those streets. Visitors would use the garage or public and private lots instead.
Any one of six conditions could be enough to trigger it:
- Emergency access or public safety being compromised
- Parking from the garage spilling onto residential streets
- Resident feedback
- Parking use and occupancy data
- A recommendation from the Parking Work Group
- Direction from the council
Several of these conditions can only be measured once the garage is open. Spillover from the garage can't happen before the garage exists. The occupancy data that would justify restrictions is what the monitoring period is meant to collect.
The city hasn't decided whether permits will be physical placards or a digital database, or how residents will register their vehicles. Either way, Sedona police staff would enforce the program with mobile license plate readers. The city has said its system "is not connected to any law-enforcement network." It also said the council approved a data policy on January 27, 2026, that limits the technology to parking and bars investigative or surveillance use.
What hasn't been decided
Several questions that matter for a regular trip Uptown have no answer yet.
A resident rate. The project site says that once the garage is complete, "Sedona residents are welcome to use the new parking garage to visit Uptown or access the Sedona Shuttle." It doesn't mention a resident discount or free pass. As of October 2026, the permit program is the only resident-specific measure on record, and it covers street parking on three blocks, not the garage.
Which free lots change. A May 12 council packet left the future of the Sacajawea and Matterhorn lots open. They could become paid public parking, employee parking, or a mix of both.
Employee parking. The proposal included free parking for registered carpools of two or more employees, $2 a day for a single-occupancy vehicle and a $25 monthly pass. The council didn't adopt it. Instead, it told Spickard to work with the Parking Work Group on a revised plan that would cost Uptown employees less. The packet identified about 205 potential employee spaces. About 104 of them would come from the city's public inventory, roughly 16.5% of all public parking. Wherever those spaces end up affects what's left for everyone else.
The garage's own specs are better defined. The project description lists about 270 spaces and a Sedona Shuttle stop. According to the May 12 council packet, the garage will have eight EV charging spaces, with room to expand to ten. Electrify America sets its own charging fees, and drivers still pay the city's parking rate while they charge.
Getting Uptown without parking at all
Transit options are already running, and prices are posted on the Sedona Shuttle's rider page. The Verde Shuttle serves Uptown seven days a week, hourly from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It costs $1 per boarding within Sedona and $2 per ride between Sedona and Cottonwood. Sedona Shuttle Connect generally runs Thursday through Sunday year-round, costs $2 per rider and has designated Uptown pickup locations.
The free trailhead shuttles go to Cathedral Rock, Little Horse, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista and Devil's Bridge, and Mescal. They run Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and parking at their park-and-ride lots is free too. The garage is planned to include a Sedona Shuttle stop. The city hasn't confirmed whether the Shuttle Connect pickup in Uptown will move there.
For now, Uptown parking works as it always has. Expect the next real change after the garage opens and the monitoring period ends. If the project timeline holds, that's more likely the middle of 2027 than this winter.
If you live near Uptown or own property there, and you want to think through how the permit program or Phase 2 water work could affect your block, Tanya Rhoades is glad to talk it over with you. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
