Businessman Don Barden has finalized an agreement with the Carnegie Science Center over traffic and other issues relating to his proposed North Shore casino, but still hasn't been able to work things out with two other prominent neighbors, the Steelers and Pirates.

Representatives for Mr. Barden and the science center finalized their deal late Wednesday after reaching a tentative agreement June 28 to avoid a court battle over the issues.

As part of the draft agreement, Mr. Barden agreed to widen a road into the science center property so school buses would continue to have access and to improve the west parking lot across the street for those vehicles.

He also agreed to fund a traffic signal to be installed at the casino entrance, pending final regulatory approval; the signal was deemed vital to getting buses smoothly and safely into the science center.

The only issue left hanging at that time was a contingency plan in the event the traffic signal did not get approval.

To resolve that, Mr. Barden, under the final deal, agreed to fund a traffic light with sensors at Sproat Way and North Shore Drive to allow buses to go from the west parking lot across North Shore Drive into the science center.

If that signal isn't approved, Mr. Barden would fund a traffic light that could be manually operated by an off-duty police officer or someone else. He would pay for the cost of an off-duty officer weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As part of the overall deal, Mr. Barden also agreed to pedestrian safety improvements, landscaping as a buffer between the casino and science center, and casino lighting standards to prevent interference with the science center's observatory.

"We're obviously delighted to be able to put all of that behind us with the Carnegie Science Center and get started with being a good neighbor," said Bob Oltmanns, a spokesman for Mr. Barden and his company, PITG Gaming LLC.

Ann Metzger, director of marketing and community affairs for the science center, credited the city with helping to broker the deal.

"We're happy and relieved and want to move on and do what we do best -- run the science center," she said.

While Mr. Barden was able to avoid a court fight with the science center, the Steelers and Pirates have appealed the May 29 decision by the city planning commission to approve the casino master plan.

They also have raised concerns about traffic issues, particularly relating to the casino's impact on events at Heinz Field and PNC Park.

As part of the master plan approval, the planning commission ordered Mr. Barden to complete a game day traffic study by Sept. 30.

He and the two teams also have been working to address traffic issues in various meetings, including those set up by the city-county gaming implementation task force, but have been unable to reach a consensus.

"We're working extremely hard at the table to find a resolution that works for everybody," Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki said. "We're not interested in slowing down or blocking the progress of the casino."

As part of those discussions, the Steelers and Pirates submitted a list of 17 possible improvements to the planning commission before the May 29 vote on the master plan and again during a meeting with planners July 3.

Those suggestions include widening a number of roadways, constructing an overhead walkway across Allegheny Avenue and North Shore Drive and possibly to other North Shore venues, and reconfiguring the Banksville interchange at Route 51 and Interstate 279.

Mr. Warecki said the list was submitted as a means of providing suggestions to planners about possible ways to mitigate the casino's impact. But he stressed they were "not a list of demands or things that we insist must be done."

"Some might not be feasible right now. Some might never be feasible," he said.