The city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon Unviersity, and Community College of Allegheny County this morning announced that they're jointly seeking about $14 million in federal stimulus money to install 220 additional video cameras throughout the city.

The cameras would operate on a wireless network and "dramatically enhance the city's public safety and homeland security capabilities" Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a statement.

The city, CMU, and CCAC are hoping to tap part of the $2.6 billion available in the second round of the broadband technology opportunities program. Applications were due March 26. The grant program is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Some of the cameras would be used to enhance security on the CCAC campus. No cameras would be placed on the CMU campus. Researchers there would develop programs for using data captured by the cameras, Howard Stern, the city's chief information officer, said.

Eventually, Dr. Stern said, the network might be tapped for wider uses such as providing residents with free internet access at libraries.

Dr. Stern said the proposal builds on a previous project announced last year to put dozens of cameras in some neighborhoods and along bridges and rivers. The city received a grant of about $2 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to install those cameras.

About 20 are operational now. Another 30 or so will be operational later in the summer, Dr. Stern said.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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