Some people hate crowds. Some people hate crowds even more now that we’re dealing with Covid-19. Once again, Google is offering a new feature to help. You’ll now be able to use Google Maps to see how busy a place is before you go there. The information will appear for places like grocery stores, pharmacies, big box stores, outdoor parks and other similar locations.

This “busy-ness” indicator has started to appear on Google Maps but it may take some time for Google to expand its reach and even show up on all devices. For example, when I searched on my phone for our local Walgreen’s, there was no indication on the map whether the store was busy. However, when I searched the same thing on my computer using Google Maps, this appeared in the left column:

Just like the Google Maps feature which allows you to see traffic flow, this new feature could save you time and aggravation, especially in our current Covid-19 world. Look for it to appear more and more in the next days and weeks.