Traffic data?

[Emilie Swenson]

Good morning!

Is there a resource that shows traffic data in Portland? (e.g., estimated number of cars passing through an intersection?)

Thank you! 

[Zack Barowitz]

Others know more about this than I, but I think  StreetLight Data could provide accurate information (they  record cellphone data). 

https://www.streetlightdata.com

The problem is finding someone who has access to the software and the ability to analyze it. 

Thanks,

Zack 

207-838-6120

917-696-5649
ZacharyBarowitz.com

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[James Cradock]

Data here seems not stale. 

https://mainedottrafficdata.drakewell.com/publicmultinodemap.asp

Thank you. 

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[Lucy Climer-Kennedy]

Hi Emilie,

This is the most comprehensive source for up to date counts:

https://mainedottrafficdata.drakewell.com/publicmultinodemap.asp

The maineDOT map viewer, if you click on the segment of road you are searching for, will also show the Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) for the segment if you click on the show road info tab on the left. I’m not sure what your goals are, but like Zach said without proper software it’s hard to gain too much from the raw counts. AADT may be a better metric for your case.

Here is the mapviewer:

https://www.maine.gov/mdot/mapviewer/

Best,

Lucy

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From: pb...@googlegroups.com <pb...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Zack Barowitz <zbar...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2026 9:32:02 AM
To: PB...@googlegroups.com <PB...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [PBPAC] Traffic data?

 

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[Myles G. Smith]

Great question, Emily!

The Maine DOT keeps this data on this map: https://mainedottrafficdata.drakewell.com/publicmultinodemap.asp

It's at least easy to find the location you're looking for via the map, though the data can be a bit tough to parse. Look for AADT numbers and trends over time for street sections. Most major intersections have at least one observation with detailed directional data. Here's one from Congress and State Street on a Tuesday in June last year, probably pretty close to peak traffic use: https://mainedottrafficdata.drakewell.com/manualcount.asp?node=MAINE_DOT_TM&cosit=000005170023&studyid=A75457BC-89FD-46B5-B2A8-292B58F483F9

One thing you may find if they provide data over several years at the same location, is that traffic volume has decreased overall in most parts of the city in recent years. And, vehicle volumes have smoothed out across the day and no longer come in the same huge tight rush hour AM and PM spike. This means there's less congestion, which means higher speeds, which typically means more danger from vehicles. Here's the Forest Avenue example I used for a talk a couple weeks ago: https://substack.com/@mylesgsmith/note/c-235720854?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=8nya6

Let me know if you have any questions as you look around!

Best,

Myles

Chair, PBPAC

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[Emilie Swenson]

Fabulous! I knew this group would know!

Thank you all - this is really interesting AND helpful! 

Happy Friday,

Emilie

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[Rauschpfeife]

Could be very cool, but the only regularly-collected data seem to be for highway on- and off-ramps. Sigh. DOT. But thanks for pointing it out. They at least have the IT infrastructure for it; they just don't collect the data. 

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Best, 

Michael Smith

anacharsis.substack.com

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[Stephen Houdlette]

When I was using the app at work, I was impressed by how well designed StreetLight was as a piece of software and how well suited it was for the use cases. In discussions with DOT (this was around 2019), they said their own analysis was that the data held up for most locations with AADT>500 trips.

Now, a lot has changed since then, and I believe the consortium of ME users lead by DOT/MTA has moved on to another tool / data source. I think it had something to do with how the app required opt-in from cell users and their pipeline of data dried up or shifted to something of different quality. In recent talks with SMPDC/KACTS transportation director they've similarly moved on. I would guess that GPCOG could offer insight here. Maybe Chop or Harbison?

Myles is spot on that volumes are lower and smoother (elongated and lower 'peak' period) than pre-COVID. This is commonplace at least across most of southern Maine.

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