Transportation FAQ

Scottsdale’s Transportation Action Plan (TAP) is focused on flexible transportation planning, implementing new technology and investing in existing transportation infrastructure. The plan is divided into five elements: Streets, Transit, Bikeways, Pedestrians and Trails. The city received more than 500 comments during the plan’s public involvement campaign. Residents and visitors were encouraged to participate in virtual public meetings and attend presentations to the Transportation Commission and City Council. The 10-year plan was approved by City Council in April of 2022.

View Transportation Action Plan 2022

Street classifications are primarily determined by existing or projected daily traffic volumes and help establish a common understanding of the streets' use, character, and access from adjacent properties. City planners classify streets as local, collector and arterial.

• Local streets…
• Collector streets…
• Arterial streets…

Roadways may be reclassified after a system-wide evaluation of traffic volume and road capacity trends. Road reclassifications may include adding or removing travel lanes and capacity based on traffic volumes, long-term travel patterns and surrounding development.

A Complete Street is designed to facilitate safe and comfortable access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities can safely move along and across a complete street. The city’s Complete Street Policy was approved by City Council as part of the Transportation Master Plan in 2008.

Road restriping projects typically coincide with pavement maintenance projects. Restriping projects maintain the physical size of the roadway design while removing excess travel lanes or reconfiguring lanes to match adjacent street segments or lane widths and/or add bike lanes to a road. Restriping projects maintain street widths and are reasonably easy to modify, if needed. A “road diet” removes travel lanes to repurpose them for on-street parking or bike lanes and may include a narrowing of the roadway using medians or curb modifications. A “road diet” is not an approach or a term included in the Scottsdale TAP.

The city’s Transportation Action Plan identified 32 miles of roadway for evaluation and possible reclassification to meet current and projected traffic volumes. These projects will not modify curb widths on the roadways. Scottsdale’s Traffic Engineering Division has used this proven method of evaluating roads for more than 30 years.

Yes, as part of the city’s continued efforts to improve conditions for those with disabilities, ADA improvements are included in all city streetscape, pavement maintenance, and developer-driven projects. In 2025 the city installed more than 730 new and upgraded ADA ramps.

As part of the development process, each applicant must demonstrate that the existing street infrastructure can accommodate the anticipated amount of traffic, and if not propose appropriate mitigation measures including adding turn lanes and traffic signals. Because many of the new and proposed developments are on sites that have existing commercial zoning and land uses, the change in site-generated traffic volumes may be less or similar to previous projections.

E-bike and electric scooter technology is changing all the time. If you ride an e-bike or electric scooter it is your responsibility to understand the class and maximum operating speed of your device, where you are allowed to operate your device, and any associated age restrictions. E-bike and electric scooter riders, retail stores and rental companies can be cited by the police department for operating or moving violations.

View e-bike and electric scooter ordinance

The City’s Traffic Engineering Division publishes a biannual Traffic Volume & Collision Report. The reports date back to 1986 and provide a comprehensive overview of traffic volume and collision trends in Scottsdale.

The Traffic Volume & Collision report is a comprehensive overview of the city’s traffic volume and collision trends. Data generated by the report helps our traffic engineers evaluate intersections and street segments for future study and improvements. More than 200 intersections in the city are evaluated as part of the data collection process. To find out more, read the White Paper about the City’s Traffic Volume & Collision Report.

Based on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Safety Countermeasures initiative (PSCi), the addition of bicycle lanes results in a 30-49 percent reduction in total collisions.

Research from the Federal Highway Administration says that 95 percent of crashes occur on roadways due to driver error or inattention. Buffered bike lanes are shown to improve safety; the separation between vehicles and bicyclists allows additional time for driver to correct the error. Read more from the Federal Highway Administration

Excess vehicle capacity provides more room for cars to drive faster than the posted speed limit which can result in severe, high-injury crashes. Removal of excess capacity travel lanes can result in a 19-47 percent reduction in total collisions, according to the FHWA’s PSCi’s.

Scottsdale is a roundabout first city, which means that roundabouts are evaluated for effectiveness and feasibility in all projects that include intersections. According to the Federal Highway Administration, roundabouts are proven safety additions to transportation infrastructure, reducing severe crashes at intersections by up to 80%. In addition to lowering collision rates, and severity of collisions, roundabouts reduce delays and lower emissions. The city’s Roundabout First policy was approved by City Council as part of the Transportation Master Plan in 2016.

• Read more about Roundabouts
• Read the 2016 Transportation Master Plan