City Manger Predicts McDowell Road Bright Future

“In five years, if the City of Scottsdale and the private sector do the right thing, you won’t recognize the McDowell Road Corridor,” City Manager Fritz Behring told a group of Southern Scottsdale residents and business owners Tuesday morning.

Behring’s remarks came as part of his “McDowell Road Revitalization Progress Report” sponsored by the Scottsdale Gateway Alliance held at SkySong.

The City Manager predicted that “the future looks bright for McDowell Road” now that the economy is recovering. He added that the role of the city is to remove any existing red tape and roadblocks in order to make it easier for new businesses to invest in the area.

“The city should start the ball rolling,” Behring explained, “and then get out of the way and let the private sector take over.”

Behring, who has been City Manager for a little less than one year, said that while the economy is recovering, the city is still “short on money” and is continuing to work on balancing expenditures with revenues.  Reminding attendees that the City Council has made the revitalization of the McDowell Road Corridor the city’s number one strategic priority, Behring said the city is dedicating as much money as it can currently afford to address infrastructure needs in Southern Scottsdale — including road, sidewalk and landscaping improvements.

Behring shared with the standing-room-only audience some of the current indicators of the revitalization, including a new lunch time trolley route connecting people at SkySong to services along Scottsdale Road.

The city is engaged in conversations with representatives of the trust that owns the two dirt berms on the east and west sides of the McDowell Road Bridge.  Behring said he hopes the city is successful in purchasing both plots that for years have been an eyesore at the south end of El Dorado Park.

SGA would like to thank Mr. Behring for his report on the progress being made on McDowell Road.

We also want to express our appreciation for the neighborhood residents, business owners, representatives from Skysong, the ASU Foundation and all the others who attended for taking an active interest in helping us revitalize Southern Scottsdale.