“It's hard to back that train uphill and not have costs involved with it.” – City of Page Mayor Bill Diak

The Streetscape project, after of years public notices, open house presentations and gathering community input, is the talk of town. Some are hearing about it for the first time, and judging comments at the Sept. 13 city council work session, some are outraged.

City of Page Mayor Diak told the Chronicle that Page Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in reaching out to local businesses about Streetscape in the exploration stages of the project.

“[They were] saying, hey, this is what’s going on. This is when these meetings are. Please participate, because the city and [those] doing the legwork for us are seeking information on what they're proposing and your input,” Diak said. 

“When that plan started, there was nothing for that street [Lake Powell Blvd]. It was developed out of those meetings, and there [were] people in City Hall up and down. The whole hallway was filled with charts and everything. Matter of fact, we ought to get those charts and just paste them up before the next meeting.”

Streetscape became the project title once J2 Engineering was hired in 2020. The city took its first steps in November 2018 under the name Downtown Revitalization Plan. The first public meetings were held Dec. 3 and 4 from 5-7 p.m. at the Page Community Center. Lake Powell Chronicle covered the story in their Nov. 28, 2018, issue.  According to the Steven Law’s reporting, “The downtown revitalization area includes North Lake Powell Boulevard from highway 89, block 17 (which is the block containing Mesa Theater, Boston’s Hardware, Pow-Wow Trading Post and other businesses), the Safeway block, the businesses along 6th avenue and John C. Page Park.

“One of the city’s strategic priorities from fiscal year 2016/17 was initiating a master streetscape plan which identified strategies, policies and feasibilities for improving the aesthetics and appeal for Page’s downtown and block 17.”

In the 2018 article, Levi Tappan, Page’s mayor at the time, said, “I hope to get the businesses on board and excited about this and together turn it into a real nice, walkable downtown.”

“The people who built this town also built a dam and a power plant,” he said. “They are men and women of industry. I’d like to find a way to honor that history and heritage and incorporate that as we re-brand and revitalize the town.”

Tappan hoped the design would reflect Page’s modern-industrial heritage.

The Chronicle spoke with the Tappan again on Sept. 15, 2023. He still likes the modern-industrial theme for Page. The former mayor is also considering another run for the office in 2024.

Residents objecting to Streetscape at council meetings voiced a wide variety of concerns, many based on misinformation. The most common complaint was the proposed changes for Lake Powell Boulevard. The owner of R D's Drive-In is worried about parking and delivery truck access. According to Debi Roundtree, Antelope Canyon tour companies are concerned about traffic congestion slowing their tour shuttles.

“Our major players on the mesa, who are probably bringing more tax dollars than anybody else, can't continue their tour businesses,” said Roundtree. “If they do what they're doing, they have to move off the mesa. And the reservation’s been trying to convince them to put businesses out on the reservation so they get the tax dollars. And so they're angry enough now that they could do that. And this isn’t going to just hurt the City of Page a little. It's going to hurt it huge if they do that. One company says they won’t be able to operate the buses correctly and how they have to enter and exit their business. So, he said I won't have a choice. He said I will have to move off the main street.”

The Chronicle asked Page City Manager Darren Coldwell about how the changes in Lake Powell Boulevard would affect the tour companies. 

“Streetscape is designed to create and incentivize business,” Coldwell said. “It's not being created to hurt business whatsoever. Our traffic study, which there were some misconceptions in a way, there were some misstatements Wednesday evening [at the council meeting], and the traffic study was done June 29 and June 30 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. So the week basically before the fourth, one of the busiest weeks of our year. It found that it was going to slow traffic down about 4.8 seconds from North Navajo to South Navajo compared to what it is now. 

“[The tour companies] come out with two stoplights left, and so you got a block and a half that they have to go. It shouldn't really affect them. If it’s that bad for a block and a half, then we really will have a problem, but it’s designed not to.”

Coldwell stressed he is willing to listen to concerns and that adjustment are possible if warranted. He’s said this at all public hearings regarding Streetscape. Executive Administrative Assistant Robin Crowther is frequently seen handing out contact information at city council meetings.

“I've spoken to three people. Three people have, after all of these comments, 1,100 signatures, three people have come in to speak with me,” Coldwell told the Chronicle on Sept 16. 

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