Knowing what the travel conditions are like on
freeways and arterials in the Valley can be
unpredictable. Sure, we all know that traffic will be
heavy during the morning and afternoon ‘rush hours’
as people make their way to and from work. We also
know that traffic near downtown Phoenix or ASU is
likely to be extra heavy on game days or during
major special events. There are a number of ways
you can find out more about traffic conditions,
incidents or construction on your route, or find out
about transit schedules and services.
Radio Traffic Reports – Morning and afternoon “drive
time” radio broadcasts on both AM and FM stations
provide regularly scheduled traffic updates for Valley
freeways and major incidents on arterials. These
reports usually provide information on slow spots on
freeways and arterials and warn drivers of incidents
that could cause more congestion or detours. These
reports are easy to find – almost every radio station
in the Valley provides them – but they are very short
reports and usually only focus on one or two trouble
spots at a time. Satellite radio services XM and
Sirius also provide traffic reports for Phoenix on their
channels.
TV Traffic Reports – Local TV news stations also
provide regular traffic reports during the morning
and afternoon peak drive times. Some of these
stations have access to the Arizona Department of
Transportation (ADOT) freeway cameras, and show
live images of traffic on the freeways. Some TV
stations show maps with traffic flow conditions,
incidents, closures and estimated travel times.
Internet – There are several Web sites where you can
find out about construction, crashes, and traffic
conditions on Valley freeways and arterials.
www.az511.com is
ADOT’s Intelligent
Transportation System
Web site. This site
provides information
about highways and
freeways around the
state, and includes
more detailed
information about
Phoenix area freeways.
The site provides
information on road closures, construction, weather
conditions, and also freeway camera images. You
can also see current freeway speeds for those
freeway segments that have been instrumented.
ADOT is working with all public agencies in the
Valley to provide traffic and road condition
information for major arterials on www.az511.com.
Most city Web pages also provide information about
major construction projects and closures on routes
within their city limits.
Other Web sites such as Yahoo!, www.msn.com, and
www.weather.com also have traffic conditions and
maps pages for the Phoenix metropolitan region.
 Telephone – 5-1-1 is ADOT’s phone traffic conditions
hotline. Arizona was one of the first states to
implement a 3-digit road
conditions number. 5-1-1 is a
free call, and you can get
information on freeways and
highways, including closures,
construction, and incidents. In
the future, information on freeway travel times will be
included. 5-1-1 even includes links to transit,
airports and tourism information for the Grand
Canyon. The 5-1-1 system uses speech recognition
technology to interpret your spoken request for
information. Background noise can confuse the
system leading to incorrect information delivery. The
system has an option for requesting information via
touch-tone key pad entries. To access this option
press * at the main menu. ADOT also provides
AMBER Alerts on 5-1-1.
 Freeway and Arterial Dynamic
Message Signs – Messages
are displayed on these signs
by ADOT and local
agencies to alert
motorists of road
construction, closures,
and traffic incidents or to
provide event traffic
information.
www.valleymetro.org is a one-stop site for transit
information for throughout the Valley. Valley Metro’s
Web site and call center (602.253.5000) provides
information on:
- Transit routes and schedules.
- Fares.
- Rider alerts.
- Trip planning.
- RAPID information.
- Dial-a-Ride.
 Transit information and bus arrival time information
for the RAPID express bus service is also available
at some of the larger transit stations and transfer
points. These systems are updated with real-time
transit schedule status to let riders know when the
bus is expected at the transit stop.
If you are interested in
alternatives to a single-vehicle
commute, Valley Metro has
information about carpooling,
ridesharing, vanpooling, RAPID
stations and park-and-rides.
 A Light Rail Transit (LRT)
system is being built in the
Valley. The 20-mile starter
segment of the system is
planned to open in December
2008. The Web site for Valley
Metro Rail at www.valleymetro.org/rail has the latest
information about construction and schedules, and
an animated demo of how light rail will look in
Phoenix.
In-vehicle navigation systems – Some later model
vehicles are equipped with in-vehicle navigation
systems that provide maps, navigation support and
can pinpoint destinations on a map. They have both
visual and audio navigation instructions. Navigation
systems are also available now for retrofitting older
vehicles. These systems locate vehicle position on a
map using radio signals received from the Global
Positioning System’s satellites. At present, vehicle
navigation systems have not incorporated real-time
traffic condition information from DOTs, cities and
other agencies.
Airport – Some Sky Harbor Airport parking garages
are equipped with systems that let you know if or
where spaces are available before you enter. These
signs are located in advance of parking garage
entrances at the airport. The airport’s Web site at
www.phxskyharbor.com also has information about
airport construction and detours, parking locations
and holiday parking lots.
Event venues – Major event venues such as Chase
Field, Glendale Arena, and Phoenix International
Raceway provide information on their Web sites
about how to get to their venue, parking and other
information.
Most city Web sites also have information about
major arterial construction and improvement
projects, including closures and restrictions. |
