Will Bellevue’s traffic lights soon get smarter? Transportation planners told the City Council on Tuesday that information and communications technology called “intelligent transportation systems” (ITS) will make the city’s network of traffic signals work better for drivers, walkers, bus riders and others.

The city’s nearly 200 traffic lights are already engineered to maximize traffic flow, but a new fiber-optic communication system, more traffic cameras, an upgrade to Bellevue’s online traffic map and new computer equipment will make the signals even more responsive.

For motorists: ITS will help drivers by providing improved signal timing that’s more responsive to traffic conditions, more efficient left-turn arrows to reduce delays and variable message signs on city streets.

For transit riders: The new system will include “transit signal priority,” allowing for faster service on a new Bellevue-Redmond bus rapid transit line called RapidRide, and real-time arrival and departure signs at bus stops along the RapidRide route.

For pedestrians: Signal improvements will mean less waiting for walk signals at crosswalks and additional safety features.

For everyone: Future plans call for an increase in the number of traffic cameras, currently 43, that can be monitored online. Innovative uses could include snow cams on Cougar Mountain to help motorists assess winter driving conditions, park-and-ride cams to check for available parking spaces, ramp meter cams to monitor lines at freeway onramps and flood cams to view conditions at frequently flooded locations.

Some of the ITS work is already under way, while other pieces will be implemented over time. The total budget for the seven-year (2008 to 2015) ITS program of improvements is $5.4 million.

For more information, see the Council Agenda memorandum. Additional information on traffic signals and management also is available.