SURPRISE, AZ — Drivers in Surprise are beginning to see the effects of new traffic improvements across the city, as officials activate a series of new traffic signals designed to ease congestion and prepare for continued growth.
One of the newest signals went live Monday at Peoria Avenue and Cotton Lane, an intersection residents say has long been plagued by traffic backups, especially during the school year.
“Especially during school, when school is in session, it is a nightmare, you know, just waiting,” said Surprise resident Dorothea Boothe. “The cars were backing up.”
Now, drivers are noticing a difference.
“The stoplights are helping,” one motorist said.
The new signal is part of a broader effort by the City of Surprise to improve traffic flow as the community continues to expand. City officials recently completed the activation of six new traffic signals at key intersections around the city.
The first two signals were activated on July 20 at:
- Waddell Road and 157th Avenue
- Waddell Road and Legacy Parc Boulevard
On July 27, the city turned on signals at:
- 163rd Avenue and Country Club Drive
- Peoria Avenue and Cotton Lane
Two more signals are scheduled to go live on August 3 at:
- Greenway Road and 175th Avenue
- Greenway Road and Verde Vista Drive
Because the two Greenway Road intersections are located close together, city officials say they will be timed to operate as a coordinated system to maximize traffic efficiency along the roadway.
The city says the investments are aimed at reducing congestion and keeping vehicles moving as new homes, businesses and developments continue to be built throughout Surprise.
Surprise is also updating its Transportation Master Plan, a long-range roadmap that will help officials determine what transportation improvements will be needed in the coming decades.
“We’re going to be able to see in the future what roadways look like in 2030, 2040, 2050,” said Eric Boyles, the City of Surprise's director of transportation. “We’ll be able to use that to kind of plan out what new traffic signals we're going to have throughout the city.”
For longtime residents, the pace of growth has been hard to miss.
“It's happening so fast that it's almost hard to grasp, the growth here,” Boothe said. “But it's well-needed, and I'm happy about it.”
As the new signals come online, city engineers will continue monitoring traffic patterns and make timing adjustments when needed to improve traffic flow.
“It's just a matter of making sure that we keep moving forward and we keep investing in our city so that our transportation network serves our residents,” Boyles said.
City leaders say the newly activated signals represent another step in preparing Surprise's transportation network for continued growth in the years ahead.
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