BY HALEY VELASCO
Why it matters
Looking ahead
Populations and number of signals
Currently, city o cials are in the implementation phase of the 2024 study conducted by HTNB, which laid out a ve-year roadmap for tra c management throughout the city, Ramirez said. The implementation phase includes updating controllers, and standardizing the NoTra c system on new signals. Each NoTra c sensor costs about $26,000. City o cials are currently seeking grants to help pay for implementing the new sensors. The study also evaluated sta ng levels. Currently, Pearland has about 19 signals per sta member. For comparison, League City maintains roughly 10 signals per sta member. O cials said Pearland’s higher ratio places greater operational demands on sta , which is why new technology must be rolled out gradually. Intersections will continue to be improved gradually to keep up with technology changes, with no set date yet for full installation, Tellez said.
From 2020-22, Pearland had nearly 2,100 acci- dents within the city’s intersections, according to data from a 2024 study conducted by engineering rm HNTB. This data helped show Pearland engineers that the old, xed schedules weren’t enough, Ramirez said. The new system tracks how people actually move through an intersection, such as red-light running. “What that tells us is that maybe we need to extend the green time, or maybe we need to change how the signal is timed … so there’s not that many people running the light,” Ramirez said. Currently, the city has 115 intersections, with a plan to add ve more in scal year 2025-26, accord- ing to city documents. Compared to other cities in the Greater Hous- ton area, Pearland maintains a similar ratio of residents-to-signals as Sugar Land, while falling between the high density of Galveston and the lower density of League City, data shows.
Number of signals
City
Population
Pearland
159,100
115
Sugar Land
111,026
92
League City
116,320
70
Galveston
52,099
111
Number of residents per signal
1,383
Pearland Sugar Land League City Galveston
1,207
1,661
469
SOURCE: HNTB COMMUNITY IMPACT
2021 2022 2023 Annual average daily tra c counts
Managing the impact
“In ve years, there’s gonna be another better detection. It’s like a phone … they change every
2024
Since 2021, most major roadways in Pearland saw a steady increase in tra c volume, data from the Texas Department of Transportation shows. Roadways such as FM 518, or Broadway Street, saw a sharp increase in tra c volume in 2023, followed by a sharp decline in 2024, data shows. Regardless, Tellez named intersections such as Broadway Street and Dixie Farm Road as spots with “constant congestion.”
year. We’re trying to have a plan for our sta , our equipment
and funding.” YOLCI RAMIREZ, TRAFFIC ENGINEER, CITY OF PEARLAND
FM 518/ Broadway Street
Shadow Creek Parkway
Pearland Parkway
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMUNITY IMPACT
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