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City staff outline signal upgrades, technology status and budget timing as annexations add demand
Summary
Traffic engineering staff told council the city maintains about 217 signals (roughly 10% city‑owned), is 80% online to the TMC and has installed approximately 210 EVP units; staff said fiber expansion is on hold pending DOT funding and that budget requests for signal infrastructure will be forthcoming in April.
David Harding, a project manager in the city’s traffic engineering division, briefed council on signal operations, maintenance costs and technology upgrades, saying the presentation was intended to give council context ahead of budget requests in April.
"We are responsible for 217 signals," Harding said, and added that about 10% of those are city‑owned while the remainder are maintained under agreements with SCDOT. He noted that 44 CBD mast‑arm poles are owned by Duke Energy, which requires additional coordination when poles are damaged or when the city seeks to attach cameras or other equipment.
Harding said the city spends about $433,000 per year on signal maintenance (primarily through the SCDOT maintenance agreement and operating funds) and that roughly 80% of signals are now communicative with the Traffic Management Center (TMC). The staff described a portfolio of technologies in deployment: video detection (replacing pavement loops), travel‑time monitoring devices, camera monitoring, and emergency vehicle preemption (EVP). They said about 210 EVP units are installed while work continues to bring remaining signals online.
On communications infrastructure, staff said fiber‑optic expansion (installed by a DOT partner) is paused because DOT funding is at a standstill; the division is pursuing cellular modems and point‑to‑point radios as interim or supplemental solutions and expects to have communications in some form for all signals by year end.
Harding described the city’s NIB (improvement bond) investments from 2021 as largely implemented (about 90% complete) and said the TMC’s new capabilities allow the city to monitor corridors, detect nonrecurring congestion and avoid unnecessary field dispatch when video confirms incidents.
Council members praised the work and asked operational questions. Council Member Gibson asked whether only 22 signals had been added since 2011; staff explained that many annexations include parcels but not full corridor signal additions and that new signals are typically warranted by development or safety studies. Staff said an expected set of Woodruff Road signals and pending annexations could add 20–30 signals in the near term.
Council Member Risington asked how the city monitors whether throughput timing imposes excessive delay (for example, weekday timing remaining active on weekends). Staff said the TMC monitors travel‑time and corridor performance and that mode switches can be made, noting drive testing and troubleshooting of EVP devices and a pilot rollout expected by summer.
No votes or formal decisions were taken during the briefing; staff indicated upcoming budget requests related to signal infrastructure and communications would appear in April.
