It’s not often the former stomping grounds of drug lord Pablo Escobar are invoked for municipal inspiration. Then again, Bogota, Colombia is not infamous like it was two decades ago.
Today, a renaissance is occurring. There can be found remarkable ideas Scottsdale and other Valley cities should adopt.
It’s a Sunday tradition in Bogota to close many city streets from 7a-2p to enable people to bike them. All at once a sense of community and adventure is created.
Whether it’s many, several or one think how interesting it would be to bike the middle of 68th Street, Via de Ventura, Sweetwater or even the beautiful, meandering Thompson Peak as it flows through some of the city’s best neighborhoods and touches the majesty of the McDowell Mountains. It’s an idea that need not be Scottsdale’s alone.
Would it be inconvenient for some? Of course. But it would also be a romantic ride available to all. Streets are shut or redirected frequently for parades, road races, major sporting events and arts fairs. So why not for the people as well as the special interests?
Scottsdale could use a bold idea to maintain its status as the Valley’s planning ingénue, even one imported from a place whose exports used to be more destructive than delightful.