Elevated Trail on McDowell Road – Bad Idea 

Building an elevated trail on or near McDowell Road is a terrible and costly idea. Using New York City’s unused elevated train tracks to create a landscaped path was a great idea because the track were already there and would have cost more to remove. The urban density of New York is twice that of Scottsdale.

I have lived here for over 30 years and urban sprawl is the reason that areas decline in use. Attempting to jumpstart and area with an elevated walkway, which is not a destination, is incomprehensible. Phoenix has been redeveloping its downtown for over 20 years with limited success. Unless there is an event at one of the large venues the streets are empty. The big department stores and grocery stores left in the 1970s and 80s and probably will never return.

People drive from place to place they do not walk like in New York. The Light Rail is nowhere near. Connecting Indian Bend Wash to a little used Papago Park would not be used as a walkway. People drive to the Zoo and the Desert Botanical Gardens they would not walk from McDowell Road, let alone, from Indian Bend Wash.

Finally, making comparisons with this walkway to the McDowell Mountains is not comparable. The mountains have been there for tens of thousands of years; Scottsdale chose to pay so they were not developed with homes and buildings. Trails were improved or built so people could enjoy the natural wonders of the desert. The Discovery Center in the Preserve would also be a bad idea. Transporting the desert to a concrete structure under a noisy polluted thoroughfare is beyond comprehension. Please drop this costly and pointless endeavor.