By J. Graber
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

Roads can be a touchy subject in Scottsdale.

The state of road repair, the use of roundabouts and the bicycles using the roads are all topics that will get residents’ dander up faster than you can flick a turn signal in your car.

But Scottsdale drivers have it pretty good, according to a recent survey by financial website WalletHub.

In fact, Scottsdale was ranked the fourth-best city in the country to drive in.

It’s below Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, North Carolina and Boise, Idaho.
The next closest Arizona cities in the rankings are Chandler and Gilbert at 16 and 17 respectively.

“It speaks to our efforts [to ensure] our residents and our visitors go from Point A to Point B in a quick and timely manner,” said Scottsdale City Councilwoman Jan Dabauskas. “It’s a wonderful acknowledgment of the transportation system and roads that we have here in Scottsdale.”

In order to determine the best and worst cities for drivers, WalletHub compared a sample of the 100 most populated U.S. cities across four key dimensions: 1) Cost of ownership and maintenance, 2) traffic and Infrastructure, 3) Safety and 4) Access to Vehicles and Maintenance. The sample only considers the city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.

In the cost of ownership and maintenance, Scottsdale ranked 54, but ranked first in traffic and infrastructure. It also ranked 18th in Safety and 26th in accesses to vehicles and maintenance.

But WalletHub’s findings of Scottsdale’s road quality assessment seems to contrast a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) assessment in May, that ranked Scottsdale’s roads an average of 64 on a scale of 100. The national average is 68.

Scottsdale City Councilman Barry Graham noted in May that the city’s PCI had dropped 18% since 2018 and chalked that up to a lack of funding.

City spokeswoman Holly Peralta said at the time that the roads were falling apart faster than expected because inferior products and procedures were used between 2014 and 2020.

But the actual state of the roads is only one part of the “Traffic and Infrastructure” section, according to a press release from WalletHub.

The section also includes:

•Annual hours spent in congestion per auto commuter.
•Number of Days with Precipitation.
•Number of Cold Days: the average number of days with a minimum temperature of 32 degrees Farenheight or lower.
•Average Commute Time by Car (in Minutes)
•Number of Alternative-Fuel Stations per Capita.
•Quality of Roads: Full Weight.
•Quality of Bridges.
•Roadway Miles per 1,000 Persons.
•Waze Driver Satisfaction Rating: Full Weight.

“The condition of our roads is not ideal right now, but the positive is we have made an historic investment on our roads,” Dabauskas said.

Last fiscal year’s city budget included $22.3 million for pavement overlay projects, but this years investment is $52.9 million for overlay projects.

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J. Graber
News Editor | Scottsdale

jgraber@iniusa.org

 Meet J.

Graber joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in February 2023, starting his career as a staff writer covering the City of Scottsdale and was named news editor of the Scottsdale Independent in 2024.

Community: He serves on the altar guild as well as being an usher at St. Mathews Episcopal Church in Chandler.  

Education: He earned his BA in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the University of Arizona. He then earned an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Oregon.

Random Fact: He enjoys reading novels by Russian authors.

Hobbies: Playing classical guitar, reading, fishing, going to the gym, watching sports and spending time with his family.