Businesses and people who live in the Strip District are embarking on an effort to improve security and traffic in the neighborhood.

In the security area, the community is developing a program that could cost more than $100,000 and include outdoor security cameras, improved street lighting, increased private security details and greater police presence.

For traffic, plans call for installing traffic lights at four intersections, posting pedestrian crossing signs and better defining traffic lanes throughout the area.

"We're doing everything we can to get security in the forefront of everybody's mind," said David Marks, security manager of Pittsburgh research for Seagate Technology and a member of the advisory board for the community group Neighbors in the Strip.

The community group reactivated its "emergency response team" last month after there were two shootings within three weeks, one inside the Touch night club and another on the street as bars closed for the night. The team, which got together after incidents in 2001 and 2002, includes the FBI, city police, the district attorney's office, state Liquor Control Board officials and state and local elected officials, among others.

The results have been swift: Police have increased late-night patrols, two bicycle officers have begun a 30-day deployment in the neighborhood and Duquesne Light Co. is improving street lights in some areas and might install some more.

The installation of outdoor security cameras will be a large part of the effort, said Mr. Marks and Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip. Along with approaching foundations, the community group is working with state Sens. Jim Ferlo and Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Don Walko to find funding for the cameras.

"It's definitely not affordable to do something on such a large scale without financial help," Mr. Marks said.

The program being developed by The Surveillance Group, of Bellevue, would be similar to the video system installed Downtown for the All-Star Game. That system isn't necessarily monitored all the time, but it creates a visual record of activity in an area that can be reviewed if something happens.

Club owners are working together to discuss problems and find a way for security details to communicate with each other and become more involved in activities outside of clubs, especially at closing time.

"The merchants in the Strip are really tightening up their neighborhood," said city Councilman Len Bodack, who represents the area. "We want people to know that the Strip District ... is a safe area."

Ms. Rodgers said the recent shootings created an image that is not backed by police statistics, which show serious crimes such as murder, assault, robbery and theft have gone down substantially in the past five years.

"No matter what your statistics are, [shootings] are bad incidents," she said. "What we have to do is plot out all the best steps to take and then move forward with a comprehensive program to make sure everybody feels safe when they come to the Strip."

Mr. Walko said it was especially important that quick steps be taken to ensure safety in the neighborhood, where residential units are opening soon at the former Armstrong Cork building and other development is on the horizon.

"I think we have to nip it in the bud right now," he said. "Image means a lot, and you have to make sure the nighttime is the right time to be in the Strip."

Increased police presence has been obvious the past few weeks, said Tom Baron, whose big Burrito Restaurant Group operates two restaurants in the neighborhood.

"Certainly, security is the No. 1 issue for any business," he said. "It's just amazing the response we've gotten from the police. The last few weeks have been very well covered."

That type of approach is necessary if the neighborhood is to continue prospering, said Jeff Kumer, who owns several buildings there.

"[Shooting incidents] just aren't going to happen anymore," he said. "It has to be addressed and it is being addressed. People who are putting that kind of money into the neighborhood aren't going to allow" the area's image to be ruined.

People in the Strip District, such as Ann Ditmanson, who lives in The Strip Lofts at 29th and Smallman streets, appreciates that kind of response. She said she's cautious when she goes out at night and welcomes the increased police presence.

But nighttime activities aren't the only issue in the neighborhood. Traffic is a major concern.

Mr. Kumer is the head of a traffic committee formed by Neighbors in the Strip that has been working on improvements for several months. One of the difficulties in controlling traffic is the three-headed nature of the neighborhood: daytime and weekend shoppers at produce companies and wholesalers, late evening traffic headed to and from clubs and bars and the overnight wholesale distribution businesses that bring about 250 large trucks into the neighborhood each night.

"The objective here is to maintain a good, logical traffic flow at a reasonable speed, about 25 mph," he said. "There are some glaring problems that have to be addressed."

Mr. Kumer's group has spent hundreds of hours meeting with businesses and property owners to hear their concerns and expects to issue a series of recommendations in the next month.

One particular area of concern is Smallman Street, where there are no traffic controls between 11th and 28th streets. The committee is considering traffic signals at 14th, 21st, 24th and 28th streets.

Another key element will be clearly marking traffic lanes so that drivers know where to go, because some areas, such as the warehouse district on Smallman, at times have three lanes of traffic headed in the same direction on an unmarked street. The group probably will call for two outbound lanes, including a right turning lane, and one inbound lane.

Ms. Ditmanson said the neighborhood could be "quite chaotic" for pedestrians. That's especially true around the wholesale and produce companies in the daytime, where people double-park and walk between cars to cross the street.

"It doesn't prevent me from walking, but it does make me cautious," she said. "We welcome changes that will improve the traffic flow and reduce the congestion.

"That's part of the character of the Strip, but we don't want anybody getting hurt."