LOL at WWJ

[Colonel Flagg]

O'Neal Stevens said to be careful making your way through "Farmington Hills" due to several accidents on M59, near Crooks Rd.

[edj]

I remember when he implied Milford and Howell were right next to each other. He clearly doesn't know the area after all this time.

[Ben Zonia]

Like I've said before, they all need the AAA Map of Southeastern Michigan. As you get out a little further, all the streets are on it, though the sub streets are not labelled. All the City Limits, County Lines, and each town is tinted different colors. It goes all the way North to Flint, West to Lansing, South to the State Line, and East to Port Huron. It should be on the walls of every studio, even the out of town ones. It even has a pronouncing gazetteer. Even the MDOT Map on the back with some of Detroit Metro, would be better than nothing. There are also all 83 Michigan County Maps online, printable, though a little hard to read. Frankly, there are many down sides to Google Maps and other similar ones online.

[MWmetalhead]

Sounds like he mixed up Rochester Hills with Farmington Hills.

[Ben Zonia]

I remember when he implied Milford and Howell were right next to each other. He clearly doesn't know the area after all this time.

Milford Township and Brighton Township are right next to each other. When you are driving on I-96 and see the exit signs whizzing past, you might think all these towns are next to each other.

A former Detroit Area station owner, who lives in outstate Michigan now, told me that the perception of people in Western and Northern Michigan is that anything South of I-69 and East of US 23 is Detroit. People in urban areas outside the cities now tend to identify closely with their inner to outer ring suburban communities rather than the central city.

[MWmetalhead]

A lot of people in the Grand Rapids area probably aren't even sure where those two freeways are located.

People over there are pretty clueless when it comes to counties, major suburbs and major highways on this side of the state. They associate I-75 with the Mackinac Bridge, if anything.

[FredLeonard]

Which traffic service provides traffic reports to 'J? Reason I ask, is sometimes - even often - these "traffic centers" are not even in the city on which they report and their "traffic reporters" are not from or familiar with the city. Add to that, many times they are doing reports not just for different stations but for different cities.

Traffic reporting started with a guy in a chopper. Then a guy monitoring truck drivers using Citizens' Band radio. Now it's somebody at a computer screen looking at traffic monitoring device readouts and traffic web cams and then deciding what to post on an internal website (this person is also likely out of town and not familiar with any of the areas he covers). Add to this, the station may air traffic reports on the 1's, the 2's or whatever but often those reports are recorded and uploaded for the station to run.

Bottom line: Don't depend on radio for traffic information. Use Google Maps or Waze or you can access the same traffic service the station uses. Not only is the information more current but it can be customized for where you are and the route you are taking so you don't have sit through other people's traffic problems.

[Trophyhead]

[quote=MWmetalhead post_id=778177 time=1710097919 user_id=2]
A lot of people in the Grand Rapids area probably aren't even sure where those two freeways are located.

People over there are pretty clueless when it comes to counties, major suburbs and major highways on this side of the state. They associate I-75 with the Mackinac Bridge, if anything.
[/quote]

Hey now!

I have done enough visiting and admit that if "it" is east of 75, I may not be absolutely coherent. With a wife from Beverly Hills, friends in Troy, Birmingham and downriver, I get by all right.

[edj]

They use Detroit based reporters. No excuse not knowing the area