Peter G. Furth

Professor,  Civil and Environmental Engineering

Contact

Social Media

Office

  • 437 Snell Engineering Center
  • 617.373.2447

Research Focus

Traffic signal control including transit signal priority and better serving pedestrians; bicycle safety and bicycle network analysis; transit operations analysis

Education

  • Ph.D., Transportation Systems, MIT, 1981
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, MIT, 1980
  • B.S., Civil Engineering, MIT, 1977

Honors & Awards

  • 2023 Best Paper – Committee on Traffic Signal Systems, Transportation Research Board
  • 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals (APBP)
  • 2017 ITE Innovation in Education Award
  • 2004 Best Paper – Committee on Traffic Signal Systems, Transportation Research Board
  • 1987 Best Paper – Committee on Transit Performance and Management, Transportation Research Board
  • 1985 Excellence in Teaching – Northeastern University Chi Epsilon chapter

Professional Affiliations

  • American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
  • Institute of Transportation Engineers
  • National Academy of Sciences
  • Transportation Research Board

Research Overview

Traffic signal control including transit signal priority and better serving pedestrians; bicycle safety and bicycle network analysis; transit operations analysis


Dr. Furth is a leading research on bicycle network analysis, having invented the “Level of Traffic Stress” criteria and methods for evaluating low-stress bike accessibility. He continues to develop new frontiers in bike network analysis.

He is also a leading thinker in traffic signal control, developing new techniques and algorithms for transit priority, for better serving pedestrians and bicycles, and for improving safety. He pioneered the concept of “speeding opportunities,” showing how traditional signal timing methods create many opportunities and incentives for drivers to speed on urban and suburban arterial roads, and showing how a different signal timing approach can drastically lower speeding opportunities while still providing good service.

Selected Research Projects

Selected Publications

  • Saeidi-Razavi, Ray and Peter Furth. “Head Start in Time or in Space? Determining Needed Leading Pedestrian Interval Length as a Function of Intersection Layout.” Transportation Research Record (2023): 03611981221151023.
  • P.G. Furth, Y.D. Wang, M.A. Santos, M.A., Multi-Stage Pedestrian Crossings and Two-Stage Bicycle Turns: Delay Estimation and Signal Timing Techniques for Limiting Pedestrian and Bicycle Delay, Journal of Transportation Technologies, 9(04), 2019, 489
  • P.G. Furth, P. Moser, T.V.V.K. Putta, Measuring Low-Stress Connectivity in Terms of Bike- Accessible Jobs and Potential Bike-to-Work Trips: A Case Study Evaluating Alternative Bike Route Alignments in Northern Delaware, Journal of Transport and Land Use, 11(1), 2018, 815–831
  • P.G. Furth, , A.T. Halawani, J. Li, W. Hu, B. Cesme Using Traffic Signal Control to Limit Speeding Opportunities on Bidirectional Urban Arterials, Transportation Research record, 2672(18), 2018, 107-116
  • M.B. Lowry, P. Furth, T. Hadden-Loh, Prioritizing New Bicycle Facilities to Improve Low-Stress Network Connectivity, Transportation Research, 86, 2016, 124-140
  • Furth, Peter G., Maaza C. Mekuria, and Hilary Nixon. “Network connectivity for low-stress bicycling.” Transportation research record 2587, no. 1 (2016): 41-49.
  • Cesme, Burak, and Peter G. Furth. “Self-organizing traffic signals using secondary extension and dynamic coordination.” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 48 (2014): 1-15.

Faculty

Jan 11, 2024

Decreasing Pedestrian Fatalities by Redesigning Streets and Cars

In an effort to reduce pedestrian traffic fatalities, CEE Professor Peter Furth proposes changes to streets and cars to prioritize safety over convenience.

Peter Furth

In the Media

Apr 03, 2023

Pedestrian Deaths Are up Sharply in Mass. Here Are Five Ways to Reduce Them

CEE Professor Peter Furth was featured in the Boston Globe article “Pedestrian deaths are up sharply in Mass. Here are five ways to reduce them” for his suggestions to improve traffic safety.  

Peter Furth

In the Media

Dec 21, 2022

‘The Anxiety Is Unreal’ for Parents at Boston Intersection Where Kids Have to Dodge Cars

Peter Furth, a professor at Northeastern University, has been studying the traffic issues and says he met with officials at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Tuesday in an effort to find a solution. (Featured in NBC Boston)

Peter Furth

Faculty

Dec 14, 2022

MassDOT Plans to Tweak Its Highway ‘Blunder’ in Back Bay

Featured in a StreetsBlog article, a 2015 research project by Northeastern University student Dixian Qui and civil engineering professor Peter Furth made the argument that the Bowker Overpass is unnecessary, even under traffic engineers’ traditional logic that prioritizes minimal amounts of delay for people in cars.

Peter Furth

In the Media

Jun 09, 2022

Mode Shift: Built with Bike-priority Streets, Houten Is Quiet, Safe – and Utterly Unique

CEE Professor Peter Furth was featured in the Dominion Post article “Mode shift: Built with bike-priority streets, Houten is quiet, safe – and utterly unique.”

Peter Furth rides his bike.

Faculty

Nov 02, 2021

Biking to a Better Tomorrow

CEE Professor Peter Furth is encouraging communities to invest in biking infrastructure to lessen traffic congestion.

professor showing apbp award certificate

Faculty

Sep 18, 2020

Peter Furth Receives 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from Association of Pedestrians & Bicycle Professionals

Peter Furth, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was awarded the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals (APBP).

Faculty

Jun 11, 2019

A New Push to Expand Ferry Service in Boston Harbor

CEE Professor Peter Furth was interviewed by Boston 25 News in the article "A New Push to Expand Ferry Service in Boston Harbor" about the impact this idea would have for the city.

Faculty

Apr 09, 2019

FY20 TIER 1 Award Recipients

25 COE faculty and affiliates were recipients of FY20 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 18 different projects representing up to $900K dollars of investment in research.

Faculty

Feb 08, 2019

Northeastern researchers proposed steps two years ago to make Centre Street in West Roxbury safer for pedestrians

A proposal created by CEE Professor Peter Furth and Huijie Gao, MS'17 about making a traffic area safer in West Roxbury was featured in the Universal Hub article "Northeastern researchers proposed steps two years ago to make Centre Street in West Roxbury safer for pedestrians."

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