Transportation

Custom Computer Resources expands into transit industry

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April 8, 2010

The evolution of Custom Computer Resources continues now that the Farmington Hills-based firm has expanded into the transit industry.The company started out as an accounting firm about 27 years ago. It has evolved into supplying applications for companies looking for efficiencies in areas including human resources and accounting. Its latest client is Lansing's Capital Area Transportation Authority, providing the firm with a healthy bump in business."It has given us more visibility," says Colleen Schils, business development manager for Custom Computer Resources. "It has also added to our customer base."The company has hired recently, allowing it to maintain a staff of five people. It has also leveraged its partnerships and a couple of independent contractors to handle more clients and boost its bottom line.Custom Computer Resources plans to continue to focus on transit-oriented customers as it exploits its new niche. It hopes to hire 1-2 more people this year, while forming partnerships and throwing more work at independent contractors."We look at ourselves as pretty successful in this day and age and in this economy," Schils says.Source: Colleen Schils, business development manager for Custom Computer ResourcesWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Transportation

MDOT goes sustainable with I-696 retaining wall

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Arts & Culture

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April 8, 2010

The long, grey concrete walls along the expressway might not look like instruments of sustainability, but the Michigan Dept of Transportation will be changing more natural slopes into retaining walls in Metro Detroit's below-grade expressways.MDOT is spending $9 million in federal stimulus funds to build a new retaining wall along I-696 between I-75 and Gratiot Avenue in Oakland and Macomb counties this spring. The idea is to prevent erosion, cut down on maintenance costs, and absorb more water runoff. "We have erosion problems from mowing very steep slopes on the depressed freeways," says Nanette Alton, a registered landscape architect with MDOT. She adds that mowing these embankments creates deep ruts, not to mention even more carbon emissions from the mower. Those ruts cause erosion during heavy rain storms. Topsoil washes into storm sewers, clogging them, and eventually making its way into the Great Lakes. That creates even more bad environmental spin-off effects."What we're trying to do is reforest the slope so we don't have to mow it anymore," Alton says. "That saves us a lot in maintenance costs."After the walls are in, MDOT will fill the new, smaller green space with specially selected landscaping and organic compost. The compost absorbs several times its weight in water, preventing erosion and giving the 55,000 new plants time to take root.The plants are a combination of native and invasive species. The best plants can not only survive the harsh conditions of living next to a freeway, but also block noise pollution."We need the most vigorous, hearty plants that we can find," Alton says.Work is expect to wrap up in the fall of 2011.Source: Nanette Alton, a registered landscape architect with Michigan Dept of TransportationWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Sakti3 raises $7M in investment financing

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Economic Development

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April 8, 2010

Sakti3 is making headlines again. This time it's from a multi-million dollar investment in a lithium-ion battery company out of Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Sakti3 is attracting more and more capital these days now that it has successfully raised $7 million in investment capital.A host of venture capital firms, including Farmington Hills-based Beringea, came up with the cash for the developer of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. The Ann Arbor-based company's technology will be used primarily for electric vehicles and also portable electronics. "The Sakti3 team is one of the most advanced battery teams in the world," says Jeff Bocan, managing director at Beringea. "In the last three years it has been focused only on developing these batteries."Read the rest of the story here.

Macomb Comm. College, Wayne State split $5M federal stimulus grant

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Community Development

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March 25, 2010

Wayne State University and Macomb Community College are splitting a $5 million federal stimulus grant to help further research and development of electrical vehicles.The new electric drive vehicle engineering program known as E3 - Electrifying the Economy, Educating the Workforce is in accordance with President Obama's goal of putting 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.The program will develop advanced educational programs in electric drive vehicles at both institutions of higher learning. These degrees will feature a master's in electric drive vehicle engineering and a bachelor's in electric transportation technology. National workshops and outreach programs to secondary education classes will also be on offer.E3 received the grant last fall and just formed its executive advisory committee. It expects to begin kicking the program into high gear later this year.Source: Wayne State UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Let’s Save Michigan pushes for complete streets

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Community Development

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March 25, 2010

Is your street a complete street? If you live in Michigan there is a good chance it isn't. The Let's Save Michigan initiative wants to change that.The Ann Arbor-based non-profit is pushing for legislation and policy that calls for making the state's highways and byways less car dominant and friendlier to other forms of transportation, such as pedestrians and bicyclists."There isn't a policy that advocates for complete streets," says Sean Mann, director of Let's Save Michigan. "We need to advocate for pedestrians, bicycles, and others."That means spending more public money on improving the infrastructure for those modes of transportation. It's a policy the U.S. Transportation Secretary has recently put forth and one which Mann wants to see Michigan and Metro Detroit communities adopt via comprehensive transit plans.Such legislation is being crafted in Lansing, however, there isn't any momentum to get it introduced. Mann remains hopeful that will happen during this year's legislative session.Source: Sean Mann, director of Let's Save MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ford Transit Connect gains traction in market

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Arts & Culture

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March 25, 2010

The Ford Transit Connect is showing signs of successfully making the leap from showroom success to market success as orders begin to pile up for the green machine.DTE Energy has placed an order for 19 of the hybrid and electric commercial vehicles and is looking for ways to incorporate more into its fleet. Canada Post and AT&T are among the other organizations across North America that have claimed some of the 1,175 Transit Connects.Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics makes the electric version of the Transit Connect. It expects to manufacture between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles next year, thanks to winning awards like Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year. "It's a great product for us," says Curt Huston, COO of Azure Dynamics. "It has raised our visibility."The 20-year-old firm has roots in British Columbia. It moved its headquarters from Toronto to Metro Detroit a few years ago and has since expanded its staff to 30 people. About half of those have been hired in the last 12-18 months. Huston expects to continue hiring as products like the Transit Connect are picked up into major fleets looking for green cred. He believes those orders will help lower the price of the truck and its components, making the vehicle more affordable to the rest of the market.Source: Curt Huston, COO of Azure DynamicsWriter: Jon Zemke

Sharing Woodward Avenue

By Jon Zemke

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Arts & Culture

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March 25, 2010

Automobiles have done a lot of good for Michigan. But for Woodward Avenue, not so much. As the value of dense and vital downtowns becomes increasingly evident, leaders are rethinking the auto-only policies and practices of Metro Detoit's transportation spine.

Washtenaw County invests $3M in trail network expansion

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Community Development

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March 18, 2010

Some of the most prized recreation options aren't destinations but what gets you there. It's why Washtenaw County is investing millions of dollars in its growing trail system.Excerpt:Washtenaw County plans to invest $3 million in expanding the county's trails, pathways and other pedestrian/bicycling routes. The Connecting Communities program plans to give out $600,000 worth of grants each of those five years."Trails are the most popular thing we do," says Coy Vaughn, superintendent of park planning for Washtenaw County. "When we do a survey of things we should spend our money on, trails are always on the top of our list."Read the rest of the story here.

A123 Systems opens Livonia battery plant, will create thousands of jobs

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Community Development

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March 18, 2010

A123 Systems is getting geared up for some more investment in Metro Detroit now that it is partnering with Navistar to build lithium-ion batteries in Livonia.The Massachusetts-based company opens its Livonia lithium-ion battery plant this month and will produce new advancements in automotive electrification technology. This is expected to spur more job growth in the company's facility in Livonia and its research and development center in Ann Arbor."A123 expects to create thousands of jobs in Michigan, and the details of those jobs are still being determined," company spokeswoman Kerry Farrell wrote in an email.A123 Systems will develop battery systems for Navistar's electric vehicle, a commercial truck that is purpose-built to be electric. That means it creates zero tailpipe emissions, while an equivalent diesel-powered vehicle produces as much as 10 tons of greenhouse gases annually. Its battery pack enables Navistar EV to travel approximately 100 miles on pure electricity before recharging. The battery pack will be capable of a rapid charge rate.The vehicle is set to launch this summer.Source: Kerry Farrell, spokeswoman for A123 SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

M1 Rail chief Cullen: The right people are in the room, money is there

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Community Development

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March 18, 2010

If timing isn't everything, then money and leaders probably play a major part, too. All three of those stars are aligning for Detroit's M1 Rail light rail project along Woodward Avenue.Excerpt:At the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) annual meeting earlier this month, transit was certainly on the agenda. A clip from Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City, a PBS special that first aired nationwide on February 8 and will re-air locally in April, was shown, and director Aaron Woolf said a few words. Many of the other speakers, from Mayor Dave Bing to DDP president Ann Lang also touched on the subject, but it was the primary focus of Matt Cullen's time on the podium. Cullen, you might remember, had a big hand in the development of the Detroit RiverWalk from his position at General Motors and has now made a move over to Quicken Loans, where he is tasked with shepherding the privately financed M-1 Rail project to fruition.Model D thought it was time to catch our readers up on the project, so we had a little phone chat with Cullen.Model D: Can you spell out where the M-1 Woodward light rail project currently stands?Read the rest of the story here.