Bicycle Friendly Communities

Scottsdale, AZ | Silver Level

Education: Community motorists are reached through a variety of educational formats. Bike Lane, Bike Route, and Share the Road signs are used throughout Scottsdale to remind motorists to expect bicyclists on our streets. The Chief of Police has a weekly 30-minute television show on the cable television. Bicycling is a regular topic and members of the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists have been guests. Officers from the Scottsdale Bike Unit have also appeared to demonstrate bicycle safety. The city and coalition developed a public service announcement on Arizona’s three-foot passing law. The PSA gets regular airing and was distributed to other agencies around Arizona for their use.

Engineering: Scottsdale is aggressively expanding and improving its bicycle network with an investment of more than $3 million per year in new facilities. Scottsdale has a full-time transportation planner position dedicated to bicycling issues. One quarter of the city’s arterials streets have bike lanes – and those lanes are swept every seven days to clear away glass and debris. The 81-mile network of bike lanes is complemented with more than 300 miles of trails, including the spectacular Indian Bend Wash. The Wash is much more than just a few miles of path. This greenbelt is one of the nation’s most well known flood-control projects. Seven-and-a-half miles of parkland provide lakes, golf courses, many recreational facilities, and an extensive multi-use path system for skating, biking, walking, and jogging. The Wash was once an eroded eyesore running through the center of the community. Scottsdale has made the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt an integral part of its outdoor lifestyle. Due to the city’s linear shape, about 80 percent of Scottsdale citizens are within walking distance of the Wash. An estimated one million people make use of the Greenbelt annually.

Evaluation: The city has a very good crash analysis, and strong long-range planning for bicycling, with active bicyclists are involved at all levels of government. Cyclists are on the City Council, the Transportation Commission, and the staff. Bicycling is an environmental value demonstrated and supported in the community.