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Brief: Pittsburgh Expanding 'Smart Signals' to Ease Traffic in East End

Mayor Bill Peduto said the project will move traffic more efficiently while improving safety and reducing overall vehicle emissions in the area.

Pittsburgh is expanding a system of traffic signals that sense vehicle flow and automatically adjust stop light timing to permit quicker travel through congested East End streets.

The $1.8 million project will employ technology developed by Carnegie Mellon University in 23 intersections along Baum Boulevard and Centre Avenue from East Liberty to Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland.

Mayor Bill Peduto said the project will move traffic more efficiently while improving safety and reducing overall vehicle emissions in the area.

An existing system along 18 East Liberty intersections has reduced vehicle wait times at stop lights by 42 percent and travel time by 24 percent, said Allen Biehler, executive director of CMU's University Transportation Center. Biehler, the former state secretary of transportation, said it also reduced emissions by 21 percent.

The city received $1.3 million for the project from local charities. The remaining $500,000 comes from city, state and federal governments.

©2014 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)