"U.S. traffic signal systems inept" was the headline on an Associated Press story on Page 8 of Monday's Butler Eagle.

It would not be incorrect or unfair to substitute "Butler" for "U.S." in that headline. Except for the new traffic signals installed by the state Department of Transportation on Main Street (Route 8) - an installation that wasn't accomplished without a number of snafus that snarled traffic flow and fueled motorist frustration - traffic signals in this city are, for the most part, inefficient, poorly timed and a cause of much wasted fuel.

Except for Main Street, the system is many years behind the times - from Center Avenue to Jefferson Street to Cunningham Street to Pillow Street to Hansen Avenue to Wayne Street. And, the amazing thing is that even in 2005 the city's leaders haven't yet gained a realization of what is, but shouldn't be.

Progressive leadership would be pushing for modernization, rather than being content with what should have been upgraded 20 or more years ago. The city's leaders should be lobbying PennDOT for upgraded lights on streets that are also state roadways, and examining options for lights that are the city's responsibility.

Just as the city's streets have been allowed to deteriorate in recent decades, there has been little or no initiative beyond the Main Street corridor to accommodate increased traffic and smooth traffic flow. That is why westbound traffic that must stop for a red light at the Main Street-Jefferson Street intersection must also often stop two more times before getting to the bottom of Jefferson Street, even if there is no traffic entering Jefferson from intersecting streets.

Traffic entering Center Avenue from the Wayne Street Viaduct gets a real "treat" in encountering traffic signals of yesteryear as that traffic waits for a green light while wondering where the traffic is that prompted the red light.

A downtown area of Butler's size shouldn't have to stymie traffic to the extent that this city's traffic signal network impedes efficient movement.

The Associated Press story in question says a new survey being released says the nation's traffic signal operations "are largely inefficient, leading to frustration and unnecessary delays for motorists, wasted fuel and more air pollution as vehicles constantly stop and go."

For the most part, Butler's traffic light system is "big" on all of the main negatives that the report lists, and it's even worse when the excessive number of four-way-stop intersections are factored into the stop-and-go, stop-and-go, stop-and-go travel.

"Backed up at a traffic light? Frustrated when you hit a red light only a block after driving through a green? asks the AP story. "Odds are, those traffic signals may need some work."

Unfortunately, Butler's need a lot of work that no one is yet actively pursuing.