Dallas transportation plan targets streets, signals, traffic technology

Dallas has proposed a $177 million Transportation and Public Works budget for Fiscal 2026-27, with potential contracting opportunities ranging from street repairs and traffic signals to bridge maintenance and a major traffic-management system upgrade.

The departmental budget consists of $159.5 million from the General Fund, approximately $16.8 million from an internal-service fund and $714,000 from a fee-supported fund that regulates for-hire transportation services.

The proposal was presented during a three-hour City Council budget work session with department personnel on Aug. 26. Council member questions reflected district concerns, including bike-lane funding, coordination of street projects with utility work and equity in the distribution of improvements.

Subsequent slides in the city’s presentation showed a separate $142.8 million program to improve or maintain 800 lane-miles of street annually, nearly 7 percent of the 11,700 lane-miles maintained by the department.

Dallas voters gave the city a mandate in 2024, approving $521.2 million in bonds for a five-year streets and transportation capital program. The measure passed with 86.5 percent of the vote. The city planned to issue the bonds over five fiscal years, from Fiscal 2024-25 through Fiscal 2028-29, as projects move through design, bidding and construction.

The streets and transportation measure was the largest portion of a broader $1.25 billion bond package passed by Dallas voters that also included funding for parks, flood control, libraries, arts facilities, public safety, economic development, housing, homelessness programs and information technology.

Texas cities finance transportation work in different ways. Dallas and San Antonio lean heavily on their general funds. Austin residents and businesses pay a monthly transportation fee on their utility bills to support street maintenance and other mobility services. Houston property owners pay a drainage fee through utility billing that supports drainage and street renewal, supplemented by dedicated property-tax revenue and reimbursements from the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

Dallas’ street strategy ranges from relatively inexpensive preventive treatments to full reconstruction costing as much as $2.5 million per lane-mile. The city’s goal is to extend the life of streets by intervening before reconstruction becomes necessary. The budget increases funding for pavement markings and bridge maintenance, although Dallas has not said how much of the street work will be performed by city crews and how much will be contracted.

Dallas also plans a roughly $20 million upgrade of the Advanced Traffic Management System it completed in 2023. The technology connects signals, cameras and other equipment so traffic operators can identify problems and adjust signal timing. The project could include hardware, software, communications and cybersecurity work. Dallas also plans to build 50 additional traffic signals.

Council questions coordination and equity

Council members pressed the department for details about where the 800 lane-miles of work would occur and whether the distribution of projects would address infrastructure disparities in southern Dallas.

The department expects to present its detailed Fiscal 2026-27 street-maintenance plan to the council’s transportation committee in October, after the budget is adopted. Officials said the current work plan is reviewed quarterly. Council members urged the department to make project locations and progress easier for residents to follow through a public dashboard.

Coordination with utilities was another major concern. The city can repair or resurface a road only to have Dallas Water Utilities, Atmos Energy or a telecommunications company cut into the pavement later for underground work. Sidewalk, bicycle, street and utility projects can also move forward on separate schedules despite affecting the same corridor.

City officials said the department holds quarterly coordination meetings to improve coordination with utilities. Council members called for better information about upcoming projects and more coordination before construction begins. For instance, Atmos Energy’s work along Beckley Avenue could finally make adding a sidewalk possible if projects are coordinated.

Council members also questioned a $750,000 reduction in bike-lane funding. Dallas still plans to add 6 miles of bike lanes from the first phase of the Dallas Bike Plan. This may or may not include re-routing bike lanes around the convention center construction. The budget also includes $1.5 million for Vision Zero safety projects, plus the replacement of 900 conventional parking meters with smart meters.

The council is scheduled to consider amendments and hold its first budget reading on Sept. 2. That is not the final vote. The council is scheduled to adopt the budget and property-tax rate on Sept. 16 and the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

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