(A subscription to the Traffic add-on and an Internet connection are required to use this feature and to complete this part of the Tour. If they are not available, please skip to “Create and Edit a Geofence.”)
PC*MILER’s traffic display feature lets you visualize historical, typical or real-time traffic patterns in the map window. If we want to quickly take a look at historical and real-time traffic patterns, there are few, better places to do it than in and around the Lincoln Tunnel between New Jersey and New York. (The East Coast traffic capital.)
1. Right click the map and select Traffic… to open the Traffic Display window.
2. In the Traffic Display window, select Congestion and Historical to see the day and time options for viewing historical traffic patterns. Select Tuesday and move the slider bar to 7:30 AM.
3. Press <Ctrl+N> to open a new route window.
4. In the Route 2 window, enter “new york ny” (any ZIP code), then double-click it in the stop list to zoom to New York City on the map. The map displays what traffic congestion has been like historically at 7:30 a.m. on a Tuesday: red, yellow and green highlights indicate heavy, light or no congestion on the roads and tunnels in this area.
5. Select the Map tab > Legends > Traffic. The Traffic Congestion legend indicates the meaning of the colors used in the traffic display and the time and day for which historical data is displayed.
6. In the Traffic Display window, select Now under Time to indicate that this route is departing now. This allows us to view real-time traffic patterns. The legend changes from “Historic” to “Actual”.
7. Zoom out twice using the right mouse map menu or your mouse scroll wheel, and move the Traffic window if needed, to see current traffic patterns in the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels between New York and New Jersey.
8. Now that you’ve had a look at the traffic display, we will turn it off. Select Off in the Traffic Display window, then close the window.
9. Select the Map tab > Customize > Legends and uncheck Traffic.
10. Close the open Route 2 window.