BENGALURU: In yet another bid to decongest Bengaluru , the traffic police are planning real-time monitoring of traffic flow at junctions and syncing traffic lights accordingly.If phase two of the Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project (B-TRAC) takes off as planned, Bengaluru may finally see an Intelligent Traffic Signal System, a key component of the Rs 175-crore project.Bengaluru has 353 traffic signals, most of them synchronised with countdown timers. Going forward, signals will be automated to manage traffic flow through cameras installed at the junctions.Called virtual loops, the cameras can capture vehicle presence. "The new system will introduce dynamic signal timings, which can be done by mapping vehicles in the vicinity," Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R Hitendra said.This can avoid wastage of green time at signals, said Police Inspector (Traffic and Planning) Anil Kumar."If a signal is timed to remain green for 50 seconds and there isn't much traffic flow after 30 seconds, the loop can shift to another signal in the junction," he said.State-run Bharat Electronics (BEL) piloted actuation at four junctions -MS Ramaiah Hospital, ISRO , Devasandra and BEL -where traffic signals were fitted with cameras."We saw 100% accuracy on vehicle presence while it was 70-80% on vehicle count," a BEL official said. BEL maintained all traffic signals in the city till March, when its contract ended. Because traffic signals in the city to close to one another, vehicle actuation will be done area-wise under Area Traffic Control Systems (ATCS)."The central business district, for example, will be treated as a separate entity because it has its own traffic ecosystem. Each area will have signals coordinated at the area level, based on real-time traffic conditions," Kumar said. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will be asked to conduct a study on implementing ATCS, he added.While VIP movement often disrupts traffic movement, transport expert Pawan Mulukutla said it would have little impact on the proposed tech-based approach. "ATCS will help major junctions and corridors that have successive signals. However, the government must make public the master plan for the Intelligent Transport System in Bengaluru. What the traffic police intend to do shouldn't be a piecemeal approach," he said.Also, the BlackBerry handsets used by traffic policemen for enforcement will be replaced with personal digital assistants under B-TRAC phase two.