Dallas presents multiyear push to modernize signals, expand radar detection and formalize traffic data policy

Gus Concarley, director of the City of Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works, briefed the Dallas City Council on June 4 on a multiyear program to upgrade traffic signals, pavement markings and related operational systems across the city.

Concarley told the council the city’s inventory of traffic signals has increased from 1,380 in December 2019 to 1,457 as of December 2024 and that the department has reconstructed 152 existing signals since the program began. He described investments that have increased radar detection coverage from roughly 23% to about 43% of signalized locations and moved the city toward adaptive signal operations that respond to demand rather than fixed timing.

The briefing said the city has roughly 1,700 linear miles of roadway, about 8.5 million linear feet of striping, nearly 9,200 crosswalks and about 2,600 locations near schools. Concarley said pavement‑marking life for the thermoplastic the city uses is two to five years depending on traffic and that the city is budgeting on a roughly three‑year average refresh cycle for lanes and a five‑year cycle for crosswalks; he gave a current estimate of…