Don Barden pledged today to pay for a series of traffic improvements to address Carnegie Science Center concerns about bus access, pedestrian safety and lighting once his North Shore casino opens.

In an interview with the Post-Gazette, Mr. Barden also said he is willing to do the game-day traffic study the Steelers and Pirates have been demanding before the casino opens. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl also said he would like to see the study done before the slots palace opens. The teams want the study done before the city planning commission approves the casino master plan. A vote is scheduled next week.

To wait until after the study is done to approve the master plan would be "cruel and unusual punishment," Mr. Barden said, pointing out that his site, between the science center and West End Bridge, is zoned for a casino.

As for the science center, Mr. Barden said he would widen a road at the western edge of the center's property so that school buses will continue to have access to the facility. The center feared the casino construction would end that access, potentially crippling one-third of its business.

Mr. Barden said he also would repave and stripe a parking lot owned by the science center for bus parking, provide landscaping to buffer the casino from the science center, and work with architects "to the fullest extent we can" to ensure that casino lighting does not interfere with the operation of the center's observatory. He also pledged to move a proposed hotel farther west so it's not so close to the center's property.

About the only demand Mr. Barden didn't agree to was construction of a tunnel or overpass along North Shore Drive at Allegheny Avenue to accommodate pedestrians crossing between the science center and the UPMC SportsWorks complex. Mr. Barden, owner of PITG Gaming LLC, the casino operator, said he did not think a tunnel or overpass was needed. However, he did commit to improving signs and pedestrian markings and to modifying the lighting system so that people have more time to cross.

Mr. Barden made his comments after the science center expressed frustration with the lack of commitment on the improvements and threatened to sue if they weren't among the conditions for master plan approval. Mr. Barden said his decision to fund the various improvements was unrelated to the threat. He said he had always been inclined to address the issues.

"I'm trying to be a good neighbor," he said. "Some of the things they're asking for are their problem. I'm trying to help them solve their problems so we don't have a negative impact on them."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.