Because of the construction going on around my place, I constantly have to check the traffic. I know I’m probably being lazy but I find it annoying to have to turn on Traffic and get the zoom right every time. I found this site that explains the URL parameters for Google Maps and using that and a basic Google search I was able to cobble together a basic URL I can use. Here’s an example:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=1000+Main+Street,+san+antonio,+tx&z=13&layer=t
The address part is obvious, the z parameter sets the amount of zoom. It is *very* sensitive so start with 12 or so and play around until you get what you need. The layer parameter t means show traffic. Anyways, this URL lets me quickly get to exactly the traffic map I need. Hope you find this useful. Have fun!