az511-client 0.1.1

Python client for the Arizona 511 traveler information API

az511-client

Python client for the Arizona 511 traveler information API.

Installation

pip install az511-client

Quick Start

from az511 import AZ511Client

client = AZ511Client(api_key="your_key_here")

cameras = client.get_cameras()
for cam in cameras:
    print(cam.roadway, cam.location, cam.latitude, cam.longitude)
    for view in cam.views:
        print("  ", view.url)

Authentication

Get a free API key at https://www.az511.com/my511/register.

Pass it explicitly or set the AZ511_API_KEY environment variable:

export AZ511_API_KEY=your_key_here

# reads AZ511_API_KEY automatically from the environment
client = AZ511Client()

A .env file in the working directory is also supported (via python-dotenv):

AZ511_API_KEY=your_key_here

Available Methods

Method	Returns	Description
get_cameras()	list[Camera]	All traffic cameras
get_weather_stations()	list[WeatherStation]	All roadside weather stations
get_alerts()	list[Alert]	Active traveler alerts
get_rest_areas()	list[RestArea]	Rest area status and amenities
get_events()	list[Event]	Active traffic events and roadwork
get_message_boards()	list[MessageBoard]	Variable message signs (VMS)
get_wzdx()	WZDxFeatureCollection	Work zone data (GeoJSON, WZDx 4.x)

All model classes are importable from az511.models:

from az511.models import (
    Camera, CameraView,
    WeatherStation,
    Alert,
    RestArea,
    Event, EventRestrictions,
    MessageBoard,
    WZDxFeatureCollection, WZDxFeature, WZDxProperties,
)

Error Handling

from az511 import AZ511Client
from az511.exceptions import AuthError, RateLimitError, APIError

client = AZ511Client()

try:
    events = client.get_events()
except AuthError:
    print("Invalid API key")
except RateLimitError:
    print("Rate limit hit — wait 60 seconds and retry")
except APIError as e:
    print(f"API error {e.status_code}: {e}")

Rate Limits

The AZ511 API allows 10 requests per 60 seconds. Exceeding this raises RateLimitError (HTTP 429). The client does not throttle automatically — callers are responsible for pacing requests.

Development

git clone https://github.com/joelrberry/az511-client
cd az511-client
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate          # Windows
# source .venv/bin/activate     # macOS/Linux
pip install -e ".[dev]"
cp .env.example .env            # add your AZ511_API_KEY
pytest

License

MIT — see LICENSE.