Sources for traffic info

[Michael in Philly]

Whoa!  It just struck me:  the Weather Channel is no longer including (at least here) traffic in the Local on the 8s.  Fortunately, here we have a newish cable channel called Tango Traffic (there are actual people on right now commenting on the maps and webcams; last time I put it on it was unmanned, so to speak).  In the car, of course, there are radio stations.  Like KYW here with "traffic and transit on the twos."

So, what else is out there?  Where do you get your traffic info?  Personally, I never get onto the Schuylkill without checking the state of it first, and I'm on my way out the door now....

[PAHighways]

The Weather Channel's contract with Traffic.com expired back in December, which is the reason for the lack of a traffic report.

I use the Traffic.com and Sig Alert apps on my phone, the iheartradio app which has a traffic report channel, and subscribe to PennDOT's 511 Twitter feeds.  I'm also a PA Turnpike Preferred Traveler and get their e-mail alerts.

[roadfro]

For Nevada, I use NDOT's 511 site, which is hosted at safetravelusa.com/nv. It informs of weather closures, construction activity and major incidents, so I always check that before a major drive to be aware of anything on my route. Also, NDOT posts any major road closures or freeway incidents to its Twitter account, @nevadadot.

In the Las Vegas area, the Regional Transportation Commission operates traffic flow sensors on the valley freeways. Going to their website, you can see a map which color-codes the speeds on various freeway segments. Also, all the local TV station websites have simpler versions of this map (which may rely on different data) on their traffic pages.

[golden eagle]

Radio or TV around here.

[Brandon]

Chicagoland:
http://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/map.jsp?mapname=chicagoArea (also Madison, Milwaukee, Quad Cities, Rockford, and SW Michigan)

Radio:
WBBM AM780 (and 105.9 FM) - on the eights.
WLS AM890
WGN AM 720

TV:
WGN 9, ABC 7, NBC 5, CBS 2, Fox 32, and CLTV.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Here in Montreal, it's pretty much on every AM & FM radio channel during rush hour and major holidays.

[1995hoo]

WTOP 103.5-FM.

I sometimes listen to XM's reports, but I don't have the same confidence in them. Among other reasons, it's clear thatvtheir reporters are just reading off a screen and making it up as they go. Example–the town in Virginia is named "Triangle." XM's reporters often say "the Triangle." That's a region in North Carolina.

[mapman]

The San Francisco Bay Area also has a 511 number and web site (511.org) for traffic and transit information.  However, I usually check the radio (KCBS 740 AM -- "traffic and weather on the 8s"), or the "map" app on my smart phone (which shows the relative speed of traffic on freeways and some surface streets).

[Michael in Philly]

WTOP 103.5-FM.

I sometimes listen to XM's reports, but I don't have the same confidence in them. Among other reasons, it's clear thatvtheir reporters are just reading off a screen and making it up as they go. Example—the town in Virginia is named "Triangle." XM's reporters often say "the Triangle." That's a region in North Carolina.

I know 'TOP well.  I remember when it was on AM.  ("Your dial is set on 1500!")  And I remember when 103.5 was Washington's Good Music Station.  Used to listen to 'GMS at Georgetown late afternoons, and on line at work until they banned streaming.

[1995hoo]

WTOP 103.5-FM.

I sometimes listen to XM's reports, but I don't have the same confidence in them. Among other reasons, it's clear thatvtheir reporters are just reading off a screen and making it up as they go. Example–the town in Virginia is named "Triangle." XM's reporters often say "the Triangle." That's a region in North Carolina.

I know 'TOP well.  I remember when it was on AM.  ("Your dial is set on 1500!")  And I remember when 103.5 was Washington's Good Music Station.  Used to listen to 'GMS at Georgetown late afternoons, and on line at work until they banned streaming.

They now have an affiliate called Federal News Radio that broadcasts on AM-1500. That station also airs the Nationals games; if I'm in the car locally and the Nationals are on the road I'll opt for that feed (for home games I'll opt for XM, but for road games XM uses the other team's feed).

I remember WGMS, though I don't listen to classical music. I was happy when WTOP took over the 103.5 frequency because their other FM station, 107.7, can be spotty–near the Pentagon, for example, it's worthless, and while the AM broadcast came through quite clearly there, inevitably the traffic report would cover my route right as I was about to go under an underpass where the AM signal would cut out. 103.5 is a much better signal.

[hm insulators]

Here in Phoenix, if I'm driving during the morning rush, I listen to KTAR-FM 92.3 for traffic reports. When I go to Los Angeles, I listen to KNX-AM 1070 as they have traffic reports on the fives 24/7. I even have it programmed on one of my buttons.

[realjd]

I usually use Google Maps traffic as my primary source - even on my iPhone. I'll sometimes also use the local 511 websites for wherever I'm going, or if I'm in the car, the Sirius traffic channels.

[SteveG1988]

If in the car i use 1060AM (and whenever i see the numbers i tihnk of the jingle, KYW Newsradio tennsixxxxttyyyyyyy) for philly

[Alps]

880/1010 in the NYC area. 101.5 does NJ traffic as well. I find that of the two AM stations, 880 tends to have very poor coverage and is frequently wrong by half an hour or more. They reported an accident with lane closures on I-80 west as I drove right past the spot with no traffic or incident. So I always make sure to double-check anything I hear on 880. But I'd still rather use the radio than mobile traffic apps... I find that generalized green/yellow/red just doesn't work in an area where we're used to yellow/red on a daily basis.

[Michael in Philly]

If in the car i use 1060AM (and whenever i see the numbers i tihnk of the jingle, KYW Newsradio tennsixxxxttyyyyyyy) for philly

I can remember when it started out:  "Philadelphia turns us on!"