In the weeks following Page City Council’s announcement of a preliminary 10-year-multimillion-dollar street revival plan, several Page area citizens have reached out to the Chronicle to voice their concerns with its proposed goals.
Citing a lack of historical precedence in keeping roads in traditionally low-income neighborhoods maintained, alongside criticizing council’s rhetoric that “gateway” roads for tourists should be prioritized, the residents implored city officials keep residential roads in mind as much as the main tourist thoroughfares.
Although still very early in its development, city council proposed budgeting upwards of $2.5 million to go toward road repairs this upcoming budget year. The first streets to receive work would likely be 10th Avenue, Coppermine Road and portions of Elm Street.
Other roads on the list to receive some kind of work in the next three years include: Scenic View Drive, a portion of North Lake Powell Boulevard, Cameron Road, Elk Road and Haul Road.
Roughly half of a $1.5 million per year allowance after the initial year — if approved and adhered to by council this summer — would come from the city’s general fund, with the other from its Highway User Revenue Fund.
Many councilors reiterated the city ought to prioritize roads that serve as gateways for tourists. Discussions over Aero Avenue, a road that was initially scheduled to receive repairs in the first year of the plan, shifted toward moving the project back.
The primary reasons, council said, were the road’s unusual width and the lack of “aesthetic appeal” of the neighboring homes.
One citizen, who asked to remain unnamed, said she believed that discussion showed a lack of awareness and concern for the average Page citizen — especially those that live in lower-income neighborhoods.

“I just think that if the city was being honest about their whole new ‘community-first’ philosophy, they wouldn’t be disparaging these neighborhoods. Those are people’s homes, no matter what they look like.”
The citizen went on to describe how many residents who live in mobile home neighborhoods are often older, struggling to make ends meet or are young renters without the means to fix up the home.
“Do you think these people have the ability to pick all the weeds, move the junkers in their front yards or afford new landscaping or remodeling?”
She continued, saying she was concerned with the city proposing stricter code enforcement and budgeting for a yet-to-be-hired city code enforcement officer.
“This is a town that has had a history of unaffordable housing, [and with] the prices [of day-to-day living] going up across the state, it’s not going to help to beat them over the head with these kinds of rules.”
Absentee homeowners, or homeowners who rented their mobile homes out without helping renters with maintenance, she concluded, were another contributing factor.
“Nit-picking how their homes look or going after residents with code fines is often a case of attacking those renters who may not be getting the help they need from the owners.”
If the city adopted a proactive approach to fixing up the adjacent roads and perhaps extending help or advice for yard cleanup, she said, would go a long way.
“That kind of proactive approach is infectious,” she concluded. “It gives people something to take pride in and they’re more willing to follow suit.”
Clint Green, a Page resident for more than 20 years, told the Chronicle he was most concerned for the future of residential roads that get little to no tourist traffic.
Living near the Lake Powell Mobile Home Village, Green lamented the state of San Francisco Road — the main residential throughway that runs through the village. Some areas of the road, especially where it intersects with Elk Road, have been so chronically unmaintained that rainstorms continually uproot large chunks of asphalt, he said. Some sections of the road are worn down right to the gravel and underlying dirt.
“It has been patched constantly, and I’ve heard promises to fix it entirely, but I’ve never seen anything done,” he said.
Peak Engineering, a Flagstaff-based firm hired by the city to help lead the repairs, has worked with city staff to earmark roads for immediate fixing.
Engineers from the firm have said streets outlined for the first round of overhauls were prioritized primarily on a must-serve basis. They claimed the streets were either the most critically in need of repair or were high traffic surfaces at risk of degradation.
City officials have said if the plan is carried to fruition over the next decade, the majority of all roads in Page would receive some kind of facelift.