Users who want to know how traffic can impact their locations can use the tools in Maptitude for this type of analysis. One tool that works well for this is the “tagging” tool. With the tagging functionality, a user can get the value of the nearest traffic count, the highest traffic count within a defined radius, a total traffic count within a defined radius, and the distance to the nearest traffic count.
For instructions on how to download the data, see: https://www.caliper.com/learning/articles/how-do-i-download-and-customize-the-free-aadt-traffic-volume-layer-for-maptitude-2017/
The following steps outline how to tag your locations with AADT data:
The first step to tagging is to create columns to populate. These can be added as blank columns in your spreadsheet before you import or added to the data in the map. Below are the steps to add the columns in Maptitude:
- Right click on the layer name that represents your locations and choose New Dataview.
- Choose Dataview>Table>Modify.
- Click Add Field four times to add 4 new fields/columns to your data.
- Click “Field_1” that you added in the Field Name column and rename the field “Near AADT”. Rename the other three fields that you created “High AADT”, “Total AADT” and “Dist to N AADT” (this will be the distance to the nearest AADT). Your field names can be different if you like, but these will be used for describing the steps in this exercise.
- Choose Integer (4 bytes) from the drop-down list in the Type column for the first three fields, and choose Real (8 bytes) for the “Dist to N AADT” field.
- Click OK and Yes to confirm. The fields have now been added to your Dataview. Scroll the Dataview to the far right so that you can see the headings for the new fields.
Tagging with the nearest traffic count:
- Right-click on the “Near AADT” field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
- Choose the Tag option from the radio list.
- Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Using Layer drop-down list, All Features from the Selection Set drop-down list, and AADT from the Tag With drop-down list.
- Click OK. Maptitude fills the field with the traffic count for the nearest link.
Tagging with the highest traffic count within a radius:
- Right-click on the “High AADT” field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
- Choose the Aggregate option from the radio list to display the Aggregate Data dialog box.
- Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Layer drop-down list and All Features from the Include drop-down list.
- Enter a buffer size (this can be any distance and units you want).
- Choose High Value of from the Fill With drop-down list and choose AADT from the second drop-down list.
- Click OK and click OK again. Maptitude fills the field with the highest traffic count within the buffer radius that you chose.
Tagging with the Total AADT within a radius:
- Right-click on the “Total AADT” field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
- Choose the Aggregate option from the radio list to display the Aggregate Data dialog box.
- Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Layer drop-down list and All Features from the Include drop-down list.
- Enter a buffer size (this can be any distance and units you want).
- Choose Total from the Fill With drop-down list and choose AADT from the second drop-down list.
- Click OK and click OK again. Maptitude fills the field with the total traffic count within the buffer radius that you chose.
Tagging with the distance to the nearest traffic count:
- Right-click on the “Dist to N AADT” field heading and choose Fill to display the Fill dialog box.
- Choose the Tag option from the radio list.
- Choose Average Daily Traffic from the Using Layer drop-down list, All Features from the Selection Set drop-down list, and Distance to Feature from the Tag With drop-down list.
- Click OK. Maptitude fills the field with the distance to the nearest link. This value will be reported in the default units for Maptitude (found on the System tab when you choose Edit>Preferences).