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Surprise transportation director proposes incident response team, fees and 30-lane-mile annual target
Summary
Transportation Director Eric Boyles told the Surprise City Council on Oct. 21 that his department will pursue a mix of operational and funding strategies to make roadways safer and more connected as the city grows.
Transportation Director Eric Boyles told the Surprise City Council on Oct. 21 that his department will pursue a mix of operational and funding strategies to make roadways safer and more connected as the city grows.
Boyles said the department—s mission is to maintain a safe, efficient transportation system and described core services—streets maintenance, traffic engineering, transportation systems management and operations (TSMO)—and special programs such as Adopt-a-Street and an annual trip-reduction program supporting air-quality goals.
Among proposed operational changes, Boyles said the department will pursue a full-time incident response team, a training program for that team and an emergency equipment staging plan to preposition critical assets around the city. On financing, Boyles said the department will work with finance to develop groundwork for a potential transportation impact fee and is exploring a citywide traffic-signal fee to broaden who pays for signal infrastructure.
"We're gonna work with the finance department to, kinda develop the groundwork for maybe a future adoption of a transportation impact fee," Boyles said, and he described the citywide signal fee as a way to spread costs beyond the traditional four-corner developer model.
Boyles listed goals and projects that include an annual target to add 30 lane miles per year (an "attainable but yet kind of aggressive goal"), modernization of traffic signal timing and technologies to improve corridor performance, and continued work on major regional connections. He said the Jomax Road extension was at about 60% design and the city was close to selecting a contractor with a goal to advance construction in FY27.
The plan also calls for a pedestrian/ADA evaluation program, a pedestrian safety program focused on high schools and an evaluation tool to prioritize grant applications. Council members asked technical questions about signal fees vs. street-light improvement districts, whether the traffic management center is using AI for signal timing (Boyles said yes, with more integration expected) and the per-lane-mile cost (Boyles cited highly variable recent quotes, roughly $8M—$12M per lane-mile depending on location and scope).
Council members from multiple districts praised transportation staff for responsiveness during recent storms, for creative funding thinking and for on-the-ground service and coordination with public safety. Boyles said staff will return with more detailed analyses and that the department will continue public outreach as the transportation master plan advances.
