Haskell: Concerns voiced by Scottsdale constituents are saying more than opposing change

Several weeks ago I did something most locals prefer to avoid at all costs. I braved the weekend traffic in downtown Scottsdale.

As I navigated the congested streets of the Big Apple, I mean Scottsdale, aboard my scooter (minus a helmet. Does nothing for the hair ladies) since there are few other appropriate transit options available unless you count bikes, Segways, golf carts and bar bikes, I noticed things that perhaps I would have missed if confined in a vehicle.

Yes, I had the opportunity to savor the intoxicating scents of high-end cuisine emanating from various 5-star restaurants and bistros that call the downtown home. Or wait, was that the scent of some medicinal herb AKA pot?

Sorry millenials but the senses are the first things to go. Didn’t that dispensary get put on hold until the inevitable Rose inspired lawsuit? Perhaps it’s just the good old fashioned aroma of air pollution created by all that traffic, but hey, at least our air quality caused us to land on a much coveted list a while back, one that didn’t get nearly the media attention I felt it deserved.

Scottsdale was honored for having the most polluted air. Well done. Didn’t see that prestigious honor touted at a council meeting.

As I darted in and out of traffic aboard my trendy ride, I came to the realization that scooters are not designed for the over-20-something body type. So, what are trendy over-the-hill folks to do?

As with housing issues no one cares as long as you do it elsewhere. Where are those polo ponies when you need them? Attending parties with local movers and shakers apparently.

Yes, when navigating downtown streets best to leave your vehicle at home as depending on the time of day and location a parking space may be as scarce as water in a desert, housing for the middle class or an honest politician/activist.

The complexion of the downtown has indeed changed much as the complexion of a teenager does. Gone are what some considered blemishes including our pseudo western image, various galleries and our low rise buildings soon to be replaced by what developers and their cohorts tout as a modern urban core AKA a bigger blemish with corresponding problems.

It is worth noting that iconic, world class cities like San Francisco, London, Paris, Savannah and others are not considered great because of their urban cores but because of their historic buildings and districts and because of the way they have modernized without losing their unique identity and without destroying what made these cities great in the first place.

I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say “I really want to visit San Francisco, Paris, Rome, Savannah etc. Their urban core is to die for.” These are cities that have not lost their unique “flavor“ in a rush to transform themselves into just another dot on the map.

Currently there seems to be a well orchestrated PR campaign designed to discredit those who question development projects in Scottsdale. A typical tactic is to label residents who express concern regarding area development projects as unprogressive naysayers or out of touch geriatrics.

It is important to understand that various council/city factions have, for years, manipulated people into their corners as have PR firms and used these folks to tout the “benefits” of various development projects. The only way to change this “modis operandi“ is to carefully scrutinize all those running for council and various boards to see who they have been mentored by and who they surround themselves with.

Independent voices are few and far between. People who express legitimate concerns regarding out of control development are not trying to preserve the past but some would argue, protect our future.

Out-of-control development has costs that developers and their partners/promoters in crime prefer you not focus on. One of those issues is traffic.

Residents/naysayers seem to have been excluded from the mass transformation of their city minus the mass transit. Residents have, however, been left to deal with the results of this mass transformation. Scooters, bikes, golf carts don’t count as mass transit options and walking should be an option and not a mandated form of transit.

As residents, tourists, etc. sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the new normal, they may have time to ponder why elected officials have done little to address traffic woes made worse by wall-to-wall development --- if they aren’t rendered comatose by the poor air quality.

Unfortunately traffic woes are not “looming” or on the horizon. They have arrived. Just ask anyone who has to travel from one end of the city to the other. Apparently the “plan” is to continue down the congested road we are on, making certain that all road construction/improvement projects at major intersections are simultaneously undertaken guaranteeing mass frustration and an increase in inappropriate hand gestures and bad driving behavior.

Various pie-in-the-sky transit options have been floated. Spaceships/pods, monorails are all options that will take years to materialize. So far the plan seems to involve bashing unpopular transit options, praying that no one notices the traffic or that certain designated areas become pedestrian-only zones.

Perhaps those polo ponies might need a second job during the off season?

Call me cynical, which would be a nice alternative to “naysayer,” but knowing the manipulative nature of local elected officials perhaps they do indeed have a plan. Overpopulate the area with housing leaving residents to drown in the resulting traffic.

Perhaps they hope that the public’s frustration will force them to embrace transit options that they previously found unpalatable. Light rail anyone?

Personally I am not one of those folks who foams at the mouth at the mere mention of light rail. What I have a problem with are the unsavory methods politicians often employ to gain their objective and circumvent resident input.

So, as we overdevelop the landscape with massive projects that don’t fit the character of the area, don’t worry. You can still catch a glimpse of Camelback Mountain if you are far more agile than I am on a scooter. Or take your vehicle.

You will no doubt have plenty of time on your hands as you inch your way through the new normal --- bumper-to-bumper traffic.

If you peer between multi-story luxury cubicles you may just catch a glimpse of more luxury cubicles, which disguise that unsightly Camelback Mountain. Whew.

As building heights up to 200 feet plus are being supported by the usual suspects, others are left to scratch their heads (another thing to do while stuck in traffic) and wonder: What’s next? Why not push the envelope and go 500 feet?

We can always bulldoze surrounding neighborhoods and transform them into parking spaces to accommodate the new urban core.

In our quest to become Anytown USA, we have left our unique “flavor” behind. How will Scottsdale “taste” in five to 10 years?

Better ask Scottsdale’s master chefs, developers, politicians and their mouthpieces. Scottsdale’s traffic crisis otherwise known as the Nightmare on Elm Street demands a solution or at the very least an honest conversation.

Perhaps we should require that those who were instrumental in creating this mess navigate the congested streets on a scooter so they can “savor” the sights, sounds and flavors of the “new” Scottsdale that they were instrumental in creating.

Editor’s Note: Lisa Haskell is a resident of Scottsdale.