Complaints never cease about unsynchronized, out-of-date, unnecessary, badly timed and malfunctioning traffic signals that needlessly waste time and energy.

Some recent e-mails:

From Paul Hoffman, a manager at Bayer MaterialScience AG in Robinson: "Every single morning and afternoon, traffic backs up on Route 60 between the Beaver Grade/Steubenville Pike light and the southbound exit ramp from I-79. Throw in the light for Omega Center and you have a huge mess. What genius doesn't realize you simply have to make the Route 60 lights longer to alleviate the situation?"

From Paul Eibeck, a maintenance engineer at NEP Broadcasting at the RIDC Park in Harmar: "Ever since the 31st Street Bridge was reopened, outbound traffic is backed up to the Heinz Plant or beyond on Route 28. Whoever set the timing really goofed."

From Dan Sadler, a Post-Gazette account executive: "There's a light on Ohio [River] Boulevard at Elizabeth Avenue (Avalon) where cars stack up during the evening rush hours. We burn lots of gas just sitting unnecessarily at red lights. How much could we save if we did a better job of keeping traffic moving?"

The PG reported in 1996 that a study done by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission estimated it would cost $35 million to modernize traffic lights.

"Getting Around" has revisited the subject many times. Some small improvements have been made, but they've been mostly willy-nilly and have achieved almost negligible improvements in overall traffic flow.

In 2003, the Pittsburgh region finished in a 16-way tie for last place in "traffic signal coordination" among 75 urban areas evaluated by the Texas Transportation Institute.

In 2006, the same SPC that made recommendations a decade earlier began looking at traffic lights in the 10-county region -- again! This time, the commission is calling it a "congestion management study." It's likely to reach the same conclusions and see the same limited response.

The original SPC study determined that if signals were brought up to "modern standards" which, by now, are even more sophisticated and high-tech, motorists would burn 12 percent less fuel.

At today's average price of $4 a gallon, that would be equivalent to 48 cents a gallon.

In less than four months, the region would have realized a savings of the $35 million that retrofitting traffic signals would have cost if bureaucrats had gotten off their duffs in 1996.

Shining stars. While not all public transportation people take their jobs as seriously as taxpayers expect, some go beyond the call of duty. Far beyond.

One is Chuck Rompala, of Munhall, who began his career with the Port Authority in 1993 as a bus driver and who has worked virtually every bus and light-rail route in the system at all hours of the day and night. His extensive knowledge of the system, dedication to the job and pursuit of excellence enabled him to rise through the ranks to become assistant manager of road operations.

The Pennsylvania Public Transit Association recently named him a Superstar of Transit for his tireless work ethic and dedication to serving Port Authority riders. Authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland called him "a complete transit professional," and I agree.

PennDOT honored 27 employees statewide with its Star of Excellence awards, including three from District 11 -- Doug Seeley, of Moon, a senior civil engineer supervisor in the design division; Elizabeth Bertino, of Apollo, a highway drafter in the maintenance division; and Dwaine Kromer, of Luzerne, an examiner supervisor at the Bridgeville Driver License Center.

Mr. Kromer and his team served 58,000 drivers in 2007, a third of all people served at driver license centers in PennDOT's Southwest District.

Fallen stars: Southwestern Pennsylvania has lost two people who contributed unselfishly to special transportation projects dear to their hearts: David H. Miller, 87, of Mount Washington, founder in 1963 of the Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline, and Al Ferrari, also 87, of Speers, a founder of the Mon Valley Progress Council in 1965 and a chief advocate for the Mon-Fayette Expressway.

Mr. Miller and his wife, Ruth, led fund raising to save the historic incline from extinction and then to keep it in good repair and reliable operation for locals as well as tourists. As president and treasurer, respectively, until last year, the two volunteered untold thousands of hours of their time to save this transportation treasure and widely known Pittsburgh landmark.

Mr. Ferrari was the longtime, low-profile chairman of the Mon Valley Progress Council's highway and bridge committee. He traveled to Washington, D.C., Harrisburg and virtually anyplace where he could buttonhole anyone -- elected officials, planners, residents -- to gain support for one of the nation's single biggest highway projects.

While two-thirds of it is completed or under construction in Fayette, Washington and Allegheny counties, Mr. Ferrari often expressed his wish to live long enough to drive the Mon-Fayette Expressway from Charleroi to Pittsburgh.

He drove the first 15 miles to Large.