By my count there have been five major steps on the evolutionary
ladder of traffic reporting in Atlanta.
The first rung on the ladder was the advent of airborne traffic
reporting. In May 1960, WSB-TV and Radio launched the first traffic
reporting helicopter. The WSB Skycopter. Ever since, it has been
providing eye in the sky coverage of Atlanta’s traffic. Being able to
fly over traffic hot spots and breaking news, gave traffic reporters a
distinct advantage and the ability to help motorists like never
before. Traffic reports before May 1960 came in the era known as
B.C. Before choppers.
The next step on the ladder was interstate and population expansion.
Between 1980 and 2000 the population of the metro area doubled.
Helping to fuel this growth was the DOT’s “Freeing the Freeways”
program. That program significantly increased the width and breadth of
Atlanta’s interstates.
Before he became the host of Atlanta’s Morning News on NewsTalkWSB,
Scott Slade reported on traffic from the WSB Skycopter.
“The last major interstate expansion was the Freeing the Freeways
program,” Slade said. “Before that we rarely flew north of Jimmy
Carter Boulevard on I-85.”
Rung three on the traffic reporting ladder came in 1996 with an
ambitious program by the Department of Transportation. In conjunction
with the Olympics, the DOT started installing cameras and traffic
sensors along Atlanta interstates. Now numbering in the hundreds,
these cameras became an invaluable tool for traffic reporters in the
city. With the camera and sensor technology, reporters were still able
to get real time traffic data even on mornings when inclement weather
kept the helicopters on the ground.
The fourth step on the ladder was the explosion in cell phone usage in
the late 90’s early 2000’s. With a majority of drivers now equipped
with cell phones, anyone that spotted traffic trouble or delays could
call into radio stations and report. It exponentially increased the
number of sources a traffic reporter had across North Georgia. Often
times we will get calls about accidents before the police do. Calls
from listeners as far north as the Georgia/South Carolina border and
as far south as Valdosta are not uncommon. I can’t emphasize enough
the importance of cell phones. This step was the closest thing to a
Renaissance period we’ve seen for traffic reporters.
The fifth rung of the ladder is the one we are currently in: The rise
of technology and social media, particularly Twitter. Not only is
twitter an amazing tool that allows traffic reporters to communicate
with commuters, it has also proven to be a great tool in gathering
traffic information. The Atlanta Police Department for example, has
recently started tweeting traffic trouble (@APDtraffic). The updates
come in real time as soon as the police are made aware of them. Sandy
Springs PD (@SandySpringsGA), and MARTA (@MartaAlerts) also offer
great information for traffic reporters.
What’s the next step on the ladder? I’m not sure, but if history is a
guide it will make my job a lot easier and hopefully your commute a
lot smoother.
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