Create & Edit Traffic Events

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Create & edit traffic events

*New* check out the new WME Road Closures and Traffic Events Training

Events like marathons, festivals, or construction can make trips hard to plan. At Waze, we work with our volunteer editors and partners to map these events and any known road closures. When we map an event, Wazers get alerts about the traffic changes. This helps Wazers stay updated and plan routes to avoid affected areas.

Tip: For more information on mapping permanent restrictions, check out your local Waze Discuss article on setting up restrictions.

Want to help your community and Wazers navigate more efficiently? As an Editor, you can help Waze keep traffic running smoothly in your area and build confidence with drivers by notifying them about events early. Here’s how:

Create traffic events: The process

  1. Gather local information: Identify the type of event and collect key details, such as when the event starts and ends, its official name, and any relevant links
  2. Create the event in WME: Use the WME to map the event, its area, any known closures, and to fill in all required attributes. Learn how to create an event below.
  3. Wait for publication & notifications: After you submit the event, Waze will review and publish it. Once published, affected drivers are sent notifications based on the event’s area and schedule.

Create & edit traffic events

Depending on the information you have, there are 3 ways for mapping traffic events:

  • Closure-based events: For events with known road closures in advance, such as a marathon, you can create an event, map the road closures, and associate them with the event. Drivers frequently use these roads (in the last 40 days) or have saved places nearby will get notifications of the event.
  • Polygon-based events: When you are unsure about exact road closures, such as a block party, but you know traffic will be affected, you can create an event and draw a shape around the impacted area. Drivers who frequently drive in this area (in the last 40 days) or have saved places inside the polygon will get notifications.
  • Combined closure & polygon-based events (recommended): If you have information about both known road closures and the overall affected area, it’s best to map both. This combination provides better event coverage and makes sure all affected drivers get notifications.

Note:

  • Waze won’t publish construction events unless they’re on major roads, highways, or bridges
  • If you (the event submitter) rarely drive in that area, or don’t have saved places there, you won’t get the push notification for your event

Need help getting started?

Check out our Waze Academy course on traffic events and road closures.

Create a closure-based event

Step 1: Create the event

  1. Log in to the Waze Map Editor
  2. In the search bar, enter the location of the event
  3. Click Events, in the left-side panel. The panel will expand.
  4. Click Create event
  5. Under the “Event category” section, choose a category that best describes the event:

  • Concert: Music events and festivals

  • Construction: Short and long roadwork and infrastructure projects

  • Crisis: Natural disasters or infrastructural failures. For crisis events, check out this guide on reporting and creating crisis events.

  • Demonstration: Public protests or rallies

  • Holiday celebration: Events related to national holidays

  • Other: Events that don’t fit into other categories

  • Parade: Organized processions or marches

  • Sporting event: Games and competitions

  • Summit: High-profile meetings or conferences

  1. Under the “Impacted area” section:

  2. Select “City”

  3. Click No address. Additional fields will appear.

  4. Select the relevant city and if needed, the state

  5. Click Apply

  6. Enter the “Start of traffic” and “End of traffic” dates and times for the event

Tip: When setting event times, consider adding one to two hours to both the start and end times to account for potential early road closures.

  1. Under the “Event name” section, enter a name for your event in English

Important: The event name you enter is what drivers see in notifications and in the Waze app, so it’s a critical step. Make sure your event’s name:

  • Has correct spelling and grammar
  • Clearly reflects the event
  • Doesn’t include special characters (for example: $%!&*)
  • Doesn’t include links

  1. Optional:

  2. In the “Event description” section, enter a short description

Tip: The description isn’t currently displayed to users in Waze. Instead, Waze sends a default message: “Expect delays due to increased traffic and congestion. Use Waze for real-time updates on closures and alternate routes.”

  1. Add your event name in the local language:

  2. Under the “Translations” section, select the relevant language

  3. Enter the event name in the local language

  4. In the “Event website” section, enter the official event website

  5. Under the “Lock” section, select a lock level to restrict lower-level editors from editing the event

Tip: The default lock level for events is identical to the closure lock level in your country.

  1. Click Save, in the top right corner

Step 2: Add Road Closures

  1. Find the closure’s location. You can either:
  • Pan around and find it on the map
  • In the search bar, enter the closure’s coordinates (recommended)
  1. Click the relevant segment
  2. Click the Road Closures tab
  3. Click Add closure
  4. Under the “Description” section, enter the event name
  5. Under the “Direction” section, select the direction from which the road is closed
  6. Enter the “Start” and “End” dates and times for the closure

Tip: For closures that are expected to last all day, set the closure times to 00:00 - 23:59 for that specific day.

  1. Under the “Event” section, select the traffic event you previously created
  2. Select or clear the “HOV/Service Road adjacent” option

Tip: If this option is selected, Waze ignores all detected live traffic and won’t monitor the closure for real-time changes. Select this option only if the closure is next to an HOV/Service lane where GPS readings may be misunderstood as activity on the closed road.

  1. Under the “Closure nodes” section, close or open closure nodes

Tip: Use this feature sparingly as closing all nodes can lead to blocking valid turn options, preventing Waze from routing drivers through open intersections.

Learn more about closures in this Waze Academy course.

  1. Waze Partners only: Under the “Provided by” section, select your organization
  2. Click Save, in the top right corner
  3. Repeat the steps in this section for each closure

Step 3: Submit the event

  1. Click Events
  2. Click your event to view the details
  3. Verify the event details are correct
  4. Click the Road Closures tab
  5. Verify the road closures are associated with the event
  6. Click the General tab
  7. Click Submit. A pop-up window will appear.
  8. Click OK
  9. Click Save, in the top right corner

Submitting the event will create an event webpage, visible at www.waze.com/events, and will appear in the WME’s event list with a “Ready” status.

Create a polygon-based event

Step 1: Create the event

  1. Log in to the Waze Map Editor
  2. In the search bar, enter the location of the event
  3. Click Events, in the left-side panel. The panel will expand.
  4. Click Create event
  5. Under the “Event category” section, choose a category that best describes the event:
  • Concert: Music events and festivals
  • Construction: Short and long roadwork and infrastructure projects
  • Crisis: Natural disasters or infrastructural failures. For crisis events, check out this guide on reporting and creating crisis events.
  • Demonstration: Public protests or rallies
  • Holiday celebration: Events related to national holidays
  • Other: Events that don’t fit into other categories
  • Parade: Organized processions or marches
  • Sporting event: Games and competitions
  • Summit: High-profile meetings or conferences
  1. Under the “Impacted area” section, define the impact area
  • Option 1: Draw a polygon
  1. Select “Specific area (recommended)”
  2. Click Draw on map
  3. With your mouse pointer, click on the map to start drawing the polygon around the affected area
  4. Double-click to close the polygon

Important:

  • Make sure to accurately draw the polygon to reflect the impacted area

  • If the polygon-based event doesn’t have closures, once it’s submitted, you cannot delete the polygon you drew. To edit a polygon’s area, click it and adjust the points. Repeat for each adjustment.

  • Option 2: Enter coordinates

  1. Select “Specific area (recommended)”

  2. Click Insert area coordinates

  3. Paste the GeoJSON, KML, or WKT polygon string

  4. Click Create polygon

  5. Enter the “Start of traffic” and “End of traffic” dates and times for the event

Tip: When setting event times, consider adding one to two hours to both the start and end times. This helps to account for potential early or delayed road closures.

  1. Under the “Event name” section, enter a name for your event in English

Important: The event name you enter is what drivers see in notifications and in the Waze app, so it’s a critical step. Make sure your event’s name:

  • Has correct spelling and grammar
  • Clearly reflects the event
  • Doesn’t include special characters (for example: $%!&*)
  • Doesn’t include links

  1. [Optional fields]

  2. Under the “Event description” section, enter a short description

Tip: This description is not currently displayed to users in Waze. Instead, Waze sends a default message: “Expect delays due to increased traffic and congestion. Use Waze for real-time updates on closures and alternate routes.”

  1. Add your event name in the local language:

  2. Under the “Translations” section, select the relevant language

  3. Enter the event name in the local language

  4. Under the “Event website” section, enter the official event website

  5. Under the “Lock” section, select a lock level to restrict lower-level editors from editing the event

Tip: The default lock level for events is identical to the closure lock level in your country.

  1. Click Save, in the top-right corner

Step 2: Submit the event

  1. Click Submit. A pop-up window will appear.
  2. Click OK
  3. Click Save, in the top-right corner

Submitting the event will create an event webpage, visible on www.waze.com/events and will appear in the WME’s event list with a “Ready” status.

Create a closure & polygon-based Event

Step 1: Create the event

Follow Step 1 in the “Create a polygon-based event” section.

Step 2: Add Road Closures

Follow Step 2 in the “Create a closure-based event” section.

Step 3: Submit the event

Follow Step 2 in the “Create a polygon-based event” section.

Edit an existing event

You can edit fields for existing traffic events as outlined in this article. Remember that each event must have either closures or polygons associated with it when editing.

Got questions?

What if my event needs special handling?

For events that don’t meet the general guidelines or require special consideration, email waze-closures@google.com and provide the following information:

  • The event name in English and in the local language
  • All street names closed during the event
  • Intersecting street where each closure begins and ends
  • Start and end time for each closed road
  • Start and end date for each closed road
  • Indicate if the entire road is closed or just one direction is closed

Why didn’t I receive a push notification for an event I created?

Notifications aren’t sent between 9:00 PM and 9:00 AM local time. If your event was scheduled to start within this window, the notification was sent out the day before. Also, if you’re the event submitter and you don’t frequently drive in the affected area or have saved locations there, you won’t receive the push notification.

Note: Waze will not send a notification if the event name contains typos or incorrect grammar.

How can I check my event’s push notification status?

To check the status of your event:

  1. Log in to the Waze Map Editor
  2. In the search bar, enter the location of the event
  3. Click Events, in the left side panel. The panel will expand.

Your event will appear, displaying its current publication status:

  • Draft: The event hasn’t been saved in WME
  • Pending: The event has been saved but not yet submitted
  • Ready: The event has been submitted for review to determine push notification eligibility
  • Published: Waze has promoted the event with a push notification

My traffic event doesn’t have an official English name. What should I do?

If your event lacks an official English name, consider these options, listed in order of preference:

  • Translate the name as closely as possible to English while ensuring it still makes sense to local users
  • Make the English traffic event name generic to the event type (instead of “Flying Pig Marathon,” use “Marathon”)
  • Use the local language traffic event name in Latin characters, removing all special characters from the title

How do I report an issue related to a traffic event?

If you encounter closure issues or incorrect information in the WME, Waze app, or the live Event website, please email waze-closures@google.com with the following details:

  • Date the issue occurred
  • Username of the person who encountered it
  • Name and date of the affected event
  • A detailed description of the issue
  • Steps to recreate the issue (if possible

Resources:

New WME v2.305
סגירות זמן אמת
Main Page
Having trouble with events