Peter G. Furth
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
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
- Using Traffic Signals to Reduce Speeding Opportunities
- – Principal investigator, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
- Low-Stress Bicycle Network Planning: New Methods for Network Analysis and Improvement, with Application in Greater Boston
- – Principal Investigator, Helen and William Mazer Foundation
- Traffic Signal Design and Operations Strategies for Non Motorized Users
- – Principal Investigator, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Department Research Areas
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.
Aug 26, 2024
PhD Student Reflects on the Sustainable Transportation Dialogue of Civilizations in Holland
Nathan David Obeng-Amoako, PhD, civil and environmental engineering, advised by CEE Professor Peter Furth, shares his experience joining Furth’s Dialogue of Civilizations course in the Netherlands, which explored themes of sustainability in transportation.
Jun 12, 2024
Co-op to Career Position
Jennifer Dueñas López, MS’23, civil engineering, completed a bachelor’s degree in transportation and highway engineering in her home country of Colombia before moving to the Boston area. After graduating from Northeastern with a master’s degree in 2023, she returned to her co-op at HDR to work full-time.
Mar 28, 2024
How Congestion Pricing Is Shaping the Future of Transportation
CEE Professor Peter Furth explains the benefits of congestion pricing, which aims to reduce traffic and pollution by charging fees to drive in metropolitan areas. It has been deployed in London, Stockholm, and Singapore and is scheduled to begin in June in sections of New York City.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.”
Nov 02, 2021
Biking to a Better Tomorrow
CEE Professor Peter Furth is encouraging communities to invest in biking infrastructure to lessen traffic congestion.
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).