MISSOULA, Mont. -- A $400,000 federal grant will be used to optimize Missoula's street light system, part of a project aiming at making it easier to get around town and decreasing vehicle emissions.

That's welcome news for many drivers in the city, who know all too well the frustration of waiting at a light and then not making it through the intersection.

The federal money is covering the cost of collecting data on how long cars wait at lights and how long it takes them to get through.

Kevin Slovarp with Missoula's Public Works Department says, "If we can save people two percent of their time off their daily commute, through town or in and around town, that's a savings for folks and that's a fuel consumption savings also."

Slovarp says the Public Works Department gets e-mails and phone calls from residents. Even department staff members point out problems they see with certain signals.

KECI spent the day at one of the busiest intersections in Missoula--at Mullan and Reserve on the west side of town. On average, drivers were waiting about two minutes for the lights to change, but for many the wait to get through the intersection was longer. That's because even when they caught a green light, it may not last long enough to allow all the waiting traffic to get through the intersection. If traffic is backed up, drivers could sit through two or three light changes waiting to make it through the busy intersection.

Slovarp warns no matter how smart the lights are drivers will still be waiting in traffic at certain times of the day, especially on Reserve Street.

Temporary changes to signal times could be made as early as this fall for a test period. Recommendations will be made in the spring after data taken during the test period is analyzed.