Question about Traffic in Scottsdale (Phoenix, Hayden: hotel, living in, shop)

[GinNC]

So i just returned from a week visiting Scottsdale and have a question about the traffic. Last Friday afternoon, my mother and I drove down to South Mountain to drive to the overlook. I was a little concerned about heading back to our hotel around 5:00 because where I am from, you will be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic from 4:30 to at least 6:30 weekdays, especially on a Friday. We came back on Central Avenue, thru downtown and turned on Thunderbird (which turned into Cactus?) to get to Scottsdale Rd. The traffic was light and manageable so I was quite pleasantly surprised.

On Saturday afternoon, we left a seminar we were attending at 3:30 pm and drove from Greenway-Hayden Loop over to Scottdale Rd. for a late lunch. Again, I was surprised that hardly anyone was on the streets driving or in the strip malls shopping. Where I live, Saturday is so busy with traffic all day, especially around shopping areas. I wondered if maybe everyone works in Scottsdale during the week and then are gone on the weekends? I was quite puzzled by the unexpectedly light traffic. Since I read this forum on a regular basis I wanted to post the question to see if the locals have an explanation.

One other comment I have is that the people I encountered on the road in Scottsdale drive like crazy fast! I know that was not my imagination.

[AlohaAZ]

Traffic is generally lighter on Fridays, whether it be from people taking three-day weekends or working from home. A lot of people get out of town on the weekends to try and escape the summer heat or just don't like to go out in the middle of the day. Generally, things kind of wind down here in the summer. If you were here in the winter there would a lot more traffic in Scottsdale and across the valley.

People drive fast in Scottsdale, but it's a whole valley thing.

[Java Jolt]

Traffic is worse on weekdays especially morning and afternoon crush hour times, Scottsdale is no exception.

But if you visit in the summertime, traffic will usually be lighter.

In my own experience traffic on many surface streets seems a little lighter than the freeways.

[azdr0710]

wondering if the roads in Charlotte are generally narrower, so they seem busier?.....and wondering if polite southerners drive slower than self-important Scottsdale-types?.....

[GinNC]

Thanks, all.
Azdr - I think you have a point about the narrow streets and "polite" southern drivers!

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by azdr0710

wondering if the roads in Charlotte are generally narrower, so they seem busier?.....and wondering if polite southerners drive slower than self-important Scottsdale-types?.....

Having moved from Phoenix metro to Raleigh, NC in June 2012, I can assure you that the driver's here are just as bad as the Scottsdale drivers. It's a different kind of bad. In Phoenix, they drive like speed demons. In Raleigh, they tailgate. When it rains in Phoenix, everybody slows down - sometime much too slow for safety on those highways. In Raleigh, they don't even notice that it's raining except to turn on their lights and windshield wipers.

However, Phoenix has large, wide highways that are well lit at night and very well marked. Raleigh has smaller highways, little lighting and poor signage. And lots of two lane (one in each direction) roads that are curving and have no street lighting at all!

Don't misunderstand: I love living in Raleigh. But I much preferred driving in Phoenix.