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Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
I'm pretty sure this document was started by someone who doesn't understand how broadcasting works. They're demanding that the CRTC save AM730, the admittedly unique All Traffic format station in Vancouver. As most here recall, Corus shut it down in a cost cutting move earlier this year and is asking former listeners to tune to its CKNW down the dial instead.
According to petitioner Chris Smythe:
"In one of the most traffic congested cities in the world, the need for an all traffic all the time radio station should be made an essential service. I can't believe that the Toronto based company has shut down our dearly needed traffic radio station. I'm sick of Toronto based companies making decisions for people in the west. They don't know JACK about what we need. I hope someone, even the gov't, can get this station going again, and SOON!"
Sorry Chris, but that's not how it works. All the names in the world aren't going to get AM730 back and it will have no effect on an already-broke Corus. Nor can the CRTC force them to keep it on the air. But it's a nice try. You can see the petition here.
Meantime, this article seems to posit that because AM stations are disappearing in that city, there's no longer any traffic reports to listen to on the radio, making AM730's departure a serious blow. I admit I don't know the market, but I can't believe almost every other outlet in town doesn't provide traffic several times an hour, especially News Radio 1130, a clone of CFTR, which has traffic 24-hours a day every ten minutes.
AM 730 off air leaves Vancouver without a dedicated traffic broadcast
- Radiowiz
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Is the petition reflecting the same ratings they had...or better?
Too bad there isn't another AM station there that would see better ratings as an all traffic station to continue where Corus left off...
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- RadioAaron
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Petitioning the CRTC is obviously pointless, but seeking government assistance to keep it going is not without precedence: Much of Montreal’s traffic station’s overhead is paid for by the provincial government.
- RadioAaron
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Radiowiz wrote:
Is the petition reflecting the same ratings they had...or better?
Too bad there isn't another AM station there that would see better ratings as an all traffic station to continue where Corus left off...
It wasn’t really about 730’s actual ratings, but rather a place for CKNW’s listeners to get traffic other than News 1130. It was a flanker. Nobody in else in the market had that motivation.
- mace
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Traffic reports every 10 minutes on 680 is sufficient for me. Don't see why the same approach on 1130 in Vancouver wouldn't serve its audience just as well.
- MJ Vancouver
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
CBC in Vancouver also does a great job with traffic reports during AM and PM drive, and on weekend mornings. There’s also CKNW itself which still exists
- Paul Jeffries
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Sorry Chris, but that's not how it works. All the names in the world aren't going to get AM730 back and it will have no effect on an already-broke Corus. Nor can the CRTC force them to keep it on the air. But it's a nice try.
I remember when CFNY changed/modified their format in the late '80s to "Modern Rock", listeners, among other things, also petitioned the CRTC about the format change. But were they actually in violation of their license? I only seem to remember the CRTC format classifications as "Pop/Rock - Harder" and "Pop/Rock - Softer" at the time. I don't remember if the CRTC had a classification labelled as "Alternative".
PJ
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- newsguy1
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
I have not been back to Vancouver since the pandemic began, but I used to visit regularly since it is my home town.
I always liked listening to the all traffic station since Vancouver is a small and densely packed area even in the GVRD.
When I was driving around in my rental car I tuned to the station to see if the Lions Gate Bridge was clear or not.
The bridge has a surprising number of accidents and mechanical breakdowns that can hold traffic up for hours.
I owned a condo in West Vancouver for years until I sold it when my mother died.
Although I did not own a boat the traffic station also used to give comprehensive marine traffic reports.
But the station also had detailed reports on BC ferry lineups.
But, yeah, the next best source for traffic, as in Toronto is News 1130 (CKWX) which has traffic about every ten minutes.
- ig
- Iain Grant
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
Years ago, I proposed an online traffic station for the GTA. The idea was that the reports would be geo-tagged based on the quadrant or octant you were located in. I learned the hard way when I wanted to concede to the best option and dump it at a station that it's a sales vehicle for tags and has little to do with programming.
The reality is no matter how good your coverage is, if you're at the 412 and 401, 427 and burnamthorpe could be in a different continent for all the drivers care.
The traffic service would generate 'n' traffic reports for various areas, with one genric overview and the ads would also be hyper-targeted to the local restaurant, MP's office, or whatever. This would also have allowed 'breaking' updates via text and online when something broke, or cleared up 
. Fill it out with road closures, construction updates, features, blah blah blah etc.
Couldn't get traction on it. It wasn't terrestrial enough.
W-AZE radio... or not
ig.
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
- RadioActive
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
I know the home or casual or Smart Speaker listener doesn't seem to matter any more these days, and with apologies to those who work so hard on these reports for the stations involved, when I'm home or out walking the dog and listening to the radio, nothing is more irrelevant or less interesting to me than a traffic report.
If I'm in the car, maybe.
If I'm not, it's a tune out. Especially one that went on longer than two minutes.
I appreciate what Iain is saying, but this format would certainly not be one I'd tune into very often. I'm sure there are many who would. But what would you fill the hours with overnights or holiday weekends, like this one?
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Thread Starter- RadioAaron
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
IBut what would you fill the hours with overnights or holiday weekends, like this one?
It doesn't matter. Not every business is fully operational 24/7
- Radiowiz
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
I believe, if an all traffic station were to be such a great idea ever for the Toronto market, Torres media would have gone to the CRTC YEARS ago and requested a broadcast licence to go all Skywords traffic all the time, maybe? AM 1280 was available at one point...
As for Vancouver, it's such a shame all traffic can't continue on another frequency, perhaps under a new owner. (Skywords/Torres media, maybe?)
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- RadioAaron
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
It needs a pretty specific set of circumstances to work, unfortunately. In Vancouver, it was cluster strategy; in Montreal it's government funding.
- Saul
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
GPS navigation services have put this one to pasture. No matter where I'm going, I enter my destination, and it pretty reliably gives me the fastest route, and I can see slowdowns. In rural areas the last month alone, it's twice kept me away from highways closed because of accidents - I know because I decided to disregard it and 'see for myself' what prompted the route change.
- MJ Vancouver
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
GPS navigation services have put this one to pasture. No matter where I'm going, I enter my destination, and it pretty reliably gives me the fastest route, and I can see slowdowns. In rural areas the last month alone, it's twice kept me away from highways closed because of accidents - I know because I decided to disregard it and 'see for myself' what prompted the route change.
GPS works great, though in the specific case of the Vancouver market, there’s several ferry crossings to Vancouver Island and other islands, and multiple US border crossings. GPS doesn’t give ferry information and I’ve always found the border delay data notoriously unreliable. That’s where radio comes in handy in those circumstances.
The remaining radio stations there are sufficient for this purpose, however.
- betaylored
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
No matter where you get your traffic reports, and even using GPS, with the hellish way the roads are clogged up weekdays from midtown to downtown, it still takes well over an hour to get to Toronto from Toronto.
Last edited by betaylored (August 4, 2024 10:47 pm)
- ig
- Iain Grant
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
True dat.
No matter where you get your traffic reports, and even using GPS, with the hellish way the roads are clogged up weekdays from midtown to downtown, it still takes well over an hour to get to Toronto from Toronto.
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
- Saul
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
GPS navigation services have put this one to pasture. No matter where I'm going, I enter my destination, and it pretty reliably gives me the fastest route, and I can see slowdowns. In rural areas the last month alone, it's twice kept me away from highways closed because of accidents - I know because I decided to disregard it and 'see for myself' what prompted the route change.
GPS works great, though in the specific case of the Vancouver market, there’s several ferry crossings to Vancouver Island and other islands, and multiple US border crossings. GPS doesn’t give ferry information and I’ve always found the border delay data notoriously unreliable. That’s where radio comes in handy in those circumstances.
The remaining radio stations there are sufficient for this purpose, however.
That makes sense, MJ. Hadn't considered the ferry... but does that necessitate a full-power station or even make one commercially/financially viable?
- RadioAaron
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Re: Petition Demanding Corus Save All Traffic Station Has Over 500 Names
GPS navigation services have put this one to pasture. No matter where I'm going, I enter my destination, and it pretty reliably gives me the fastest route, and I can see slowdowns. In rural areas the last month alone, it's twice kept me away from highways closed because of accidents - I know because I decided to disregard it and 'see for myself' what prompted the route change.
GPS works great, though in the specific case of the Vancouver market, there’s several ferry crossings to Vancouver Island and other islands, and multiple US border crossings. GPS doesn’t give ferry information and I’ve always found the border delay data notoriously unreliable. That’s where radio comes in handy in those circumstances.
The remaining radio stations there are sufficient for this purpose, however.That makes sense, MJ. Hadn't considered the ferry... but does that necessitate a full-power station or even make one commercially/financially viable?
The viability came mostly from the flanking benefit it provided to CKNW.
The benefit is mostly intangible, so it was a pretty easy target when it came time to reduce expenses.