The Scottsdale City Council voted 4-3 last week to convert two driving lanes in Scottsdale’s Old Town entertainment district to bicycle lanes. Along 68th Street from Indian School Road south to Thomas Road, one lane each way will become bicycle lanes, leaving only one lane each way on the busy street available for vehicles.
Scottsdale City Council Member Barry Graham, who lives in South Scottsdale near Old Town and opposed the March 21 vote, tweeted, “On Tuesday, Scottsdale City Council voted (4-3) to eliminate 2 lanes from one of your major streets in south Scottsdale. I tried to find a compromise that preserved the car lanes. Unfortunately, councilmembers made the issue about what they want — not what you want.”
The council approved the Transportation Action Plan proposing this move last year. Along with Graham, Scottsdale City Council Members Betty Janik and Kathy Littlefield opposed the lane reduction. Council Members Tom Durham, Solange Whitehead, Tammy Caputi, and Mayor David Ortega voted yes.
Although Scottsdale leans Republican, the council does not. Ortega, who used to be a Democrat, switched to independent and endorsed Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) for U.S. Senate last year. Caputi also was a Democrat, previously endorsed by NARAL, but switched to independent to run for the council. She frequently pushes for new apartment developments. Whitehead was endorsed by Arizona List, which seeks to “elect more pro-choice, Democratic women,” and former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, a Republican known for endorsing Democrats and sparring with former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Janik published an op-ed with The Arizona Progress & Gazette on Monday expressing her concerns. She said she received hundreds of emails from residents about the proposed change, and 85 percent of them opposed the move. She said notice to affected residents was not properly conducted. “While over 5000 post cards were mailed, most impacted businesses were not included,” she said. “Addresses are culled from the property tax database; thus, the landlords received the notifications, not the impacted business owners or numerous apartment dwellers.”
Another problem Janik cited was that staff and council members said the move would not affect businesses. However, “the 23 impacted business owners (who were not contacted by the COS), signed a petition in opposition to the project.” Similarly, “Claims were made that members of the Southwest Village HOA were strongly in favor of the project and yet I have received emails indicating this is not accurate.”
Janik hinted that the move was made to attract federal money, “It seems the lure of available federal funds was more operative in this decision than citizen opinion.”
The site protectscottsdale.com was launched to “stop urbanization and road diets.” Road diets are defined as replacing traffic lanes with alternative uses such as bicycle lanes, mass transit, and pedestrian walkways. A video on the site explains that due to all the new apartment complexes the council has approved — and some haven’t even been built yet — traffic congestion is getting worse. Additionally, the video states, with fewer lanes for vehicles, it takes firefighters and ambulances longer to respond to emergencies.
Graham’s tweet went viral, provoking numerous frustrated responses. Randy Pullen, former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, tweeted, “I drive on 68th Street every day. There are no problems with bicycles or pedestrians. This is all about getting federal money.”
AZSuburbs, an active Twitter user who frequently comments on Arizona political issues, tweeted, “More car congestion, longer idling times, more pollution. They just don’t get it. Arizonans will NOT leave their vehicles. This isn’t Boulder folks.”
Former Arizona legislator Jeff Weninger tweeted, “Scottsdale follows Mesa & Tempe in this practice. Mesa reduced Southern (where their mall, hospital & college are located) Tempe reduced McClintock (from Baseline to Southern) Why would the Leg renew prop 400 when cities are wasting money by reducing traffic lanes?”
The state implemented a tax known as Prop. 400, to expand public transportation and build light rail in Maricopa County, but it’s been considered a failure since it hasn’t reduced congestion and light rail ridership is low.
Scottsdale residents on Nextdoor, whose posts aren’t viewable by others who do not live in the area, shared some strong objections.
Jeanne S. posted, “Eliminating traffic lanes from an area that now has increased population with numerous apt/condos recently constructed makes absolutely no sense at all! 68th Street is a major thoroughfare that cannot handle more congestion!”
One resident suggested a possible solution. “It’s all just striping, right?” asked Collin Yourbs. “So if it doesn’t work it can be changed back with restriping?” Another resident said she and her husband will launch a recall of the four councilmembers who voted for it. Many of the residents commenting said they were never notified by the City of Scottsdale about the change, instead they found out at the last minute from others.
There are more road diets scheduled in the Transportation Action Plan, including along Hayden Road from McKellips Road to Indian School Road.
Some cities are reversing their road diets due to all the negative effects. A Scottsdale resident named Jeremy posted on Nextdoor, “Tempe did this on McClintock years ago and they had to go back and build the roads back up.” Janik recommends putting the road diet to a vote of residents in 2024.
Graham told The Arizona Sun Times his recommendation. “The best solution is residents voicing their opinions, attending council meetings, and talking to other voters,” he said. “Council won’t refer it to the ballot unless they believe it’s important enough to residents to support it — at this point, a long-shot.”
The Scottsdale City Council will consider whether to create transitional housing for homeless residents. Graham is skeptical of the proposal, supporting more of a regional approach outside of city limits. “City Council will be considering another road diet along Thomas Road, in addition to more road diets across the city,” he told The Sun Times. “Unfortunately, the federal government awards for transportation projects often come with strings attached that encourage cities to do things their residents don’t like. We shouldn’t accept such awards if we don’t like the strings attached.”
He went on, “The initiative for the city to create transitional housing is still early. However, the city does not have a good track record with similar past projects, as well as recent project mismanagement. Residents might be more supportive of participating in a regional effort, or partnering with a proven non-profit. Residents should tell Council how they feel by emailing [email protected].”
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Scottsdale Old Town” by Bernard Gagnon. CC BY 3.0.
