HAIF:traffic

[editor]

After more than a month of work, I'm pleased to announce a new feature for HAIF.

HAIF has teamed up with Traffic.com to bring you HAIF:traffic. This is more than just a regular traffic service. There are a ton of features here to help all sorts of people get around the mess that is Houston traffic. I'll try to list them all here:

The HAIF-O-Meter

Exclusive to HAIF (as if the name didn't give that away), the HAIF-O-Meter is a measure of the overall challenge of getting around Houston. It is constantly updated and displays in two ways.

First, in the top feature bar you'll see the dead armadillo icon has been replaced by the word Traffic. That word will change colors every five minutes to reflect the overall state of Houston traffic. If it's green, things are generally good. As traffic worsens during the day it will gradually turn more and more red. If you're going out for lunch or about to head home for the day and you see the word "Traffic" is anything but green, it's probably a good idea to click on it and see if your route home is clogged up.

The HAIF-O-Meter also exists on the HAIF:traffic main Houston traffic page.

Here you can see it in a little detail. The overall state of Houston traffic is measured on a scale from Movin' Easy to Mass Hysteria. In addition to the color-coded bar that charts the level of chaos on the freeways, the overall condition is summarized in words. In this example, the current status is "Typical Houston."

But there's a lot more to HAIF:traffic than just the HAIF-O-Meter.

Specific Freeway Conditions

You can check the condition of a particular road from the main HAIF:traffic page.

If you are in the Galleria and know you need to take 610 north, you can click on the 610 West Loop Northbound link to see:

• A color-coded interactive map of the road
  
• A graph showing its current status
  
• The estimated time it would take you to travel the route
  
• The current normal amount of time it would take cars to travel that route if everyone was going the speed limit.
  

Alerting Service

If you take the same route to work or school each day, then the alerting service can help you know if something's gone horribly wrong.

• The service can send you an e-mail when traffic is unusually backed up along your route.
  
• The service can call your home, work, or cell phone with a voice alert if there are unusual problems.
  
• The service can send a text message to your mobile phone if things are bad.
  
• Or you can set it up to send you an alert at intervals you choose (like at 4:45pm -- just before you go home!) with the current status of your commute home.
  

Naturally, you have to register an account on the traffic service for these things to work, otherwise how will it know what route you take?

The Big Interactive Traffic Map

You can use this map to zoom in on a particular area of Houston and little icons will pop up showing what's going on in that area. Things like congestion, fires, construction, or anything else that makes a mess of traffic. Click on the wee icons for more information about each incident.

Active Incidents List

Some people work better with lists than maps. Good for you. Here's the list you need. It includes everything going wrong right now with Houston traffic.

RSS

Some people love RSS. If you're one of them, there's a constantly updating RSS feed of Houston's traffic problems.

You'll have to register an account for this one, too.

Mass Transit

Houston's mass transit isn't massive, but for many people it's their lifeline. The mass transit link shows current information for Metro's light rail, buses, and the Lynchburg Ferry which you may not have thought of as mass transit before, but I guess in the strictest sense it is.

Traffic Jam List

A list of the worst traffic tie-ups in Houston right now. Updated every minute.

Construction List

A list of the road construction projects going on in the Houston Metro area right now.

Special Events Traffic

Sure, things may look all green and shiny at 8pm when you're heading out. But did you know the Astros game is about to let out and leave you stuck behind thousands of people? With this list you can know about special events going on around town that could leave you fuming.

Got a Mac?

If you do, check out the Houston Traffic Widget. With a touch of the Dashboard button on your keyboard you can see the worst of what Houston's freeways have to offer. Verily it rocketh.

There's actually a lot more to it than this, but this is enough to get you started. Enjoy, and I hope this free service (for you) helps HAIFers get around.