"Knowledge for Growth" Detroit Section Professional Development Conference
We're looking forward to seeing you at the conference! For those of you coming from out of town, we invite you to make a weekend of it. See below for suggestions.
Transportation . . .
The GM Technical Center is located 1.5 miles north of I-696 on Van Dyke Avenue. Enter the GM Technical Center at Gate 9 as shown on this map of Warren. Travel south to the VEC building as shown on this map of the GM Campus.
The Detroit Section has reserved a block of rooms until April 4 at the Hawthorn Suites in Warren, located across from the GM Tech Center (note: the address in the map URL has been modified to show true location of hotel). The rate is $79 for a single king or double (queens). All rooms also have sleeper sofas, kitchenettes, and living areas! Please call them (586-558-7870) and ask for the "Society of Women Engineers" block.
Please also let us know you will be staying in the hotel so we can welcome you!
From the hotel, enter GM at Gate 9 and proceed south to the VEC building. See also this map of the GM Campus.
Transportation
Take I-696 to Van Dyke Avenue, exit 23. Drive 1.5 miles north. See the sections above for the GM Technical Center and hotel locations. Get traffic delay updates from AAA Michigan or by listening to WWJ radio, AM 950 (updates on the 8's). Lane and ramp closures are available from the Michigan Department of Transportation. Feel free also to contact us with questions; we're monitoring the construction situation.
Do you live along Amtrak's Wolverine Line? (for specific stations, click "View Detailed Map" underneath the map on this Amtrak page, or view the Michigan timetable.) Amtrak's Royal Oak station is just 15 minutes from the hotel. Fares are $58 round trip from Chicago (an additional 10% discount with a AAA Membership!)
Contact us about hotel transportation if you plan to arrive via Amtrak.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport's code is DTW.
Contact us about hotel transportation if you plan to arrive at the airport.
Detroit is a fun town! Do you like
Science? (of course you do!) The Cranbrook Institute of Science will have the exhibit Science in Toyland (Su 10:00 - 5:00). The New Detroit Science Center also has fun exhibits (Su 10:00 - 6:00).
History? Try the Henry Ford Museum (Su 9:30 - 5:00) and Greenfield Village (Su 9:30 - 5:00) or the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Su 1:00 - 5:00)
Visual Arts? There's the prestigious Detroit Institutes of Art (Su 10:00 - 6:00), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Su 11:00 - 5:00), and the Cranbrook Art Museum (Su 11:00 - 5:00)
Performing Arts? Poetry Slam Finals will be at The Max (part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra complex) (Sa 8:00)
Music? The Michigan Opera Theatre will perform La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini (Sa 7:30, Su 2:30) (synopsis of La Rondine). The Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs Bruckner's Ninth (Note: link plays music) (Sa 8:30). Any number of clubs around town will have music--check back when the calendars are updated, or contact us.
Theater? The Detroit Repertory Theatre will perform Southern Comforts (Sa 8:30, Su 2:00 and 7:30)
Shopping? The Somerset Collection offers high-end wares, one of many shopping centers in the area. Contact us if you are looking for something special.
We would love to have you visit! If you've seen the exchange rate lately, you know it's a bargain to come to the US these days!
Warren is a 2 hour drive from London or a 4 hour drive from Toronto (plus border crossing each case, coming: US$1.50, CA$2.75, going: $2.75 US or CA). We suggest crossing at Sarnia (Blue Waters Bridge)--please see the links above in this paragraph for instructions to GM's Gate 9. Follow the map of the GM Campus to arrive at the VEC building.
Warren is a half-hour drive from Windsor (plus border crossing). [directions per recommendation by the Michigan Department of Transportation]. Please, it is strongly recommended by the Michigan Department of Transportation to use the tunnel (coming: $3.75, US or CA, going: US$3.75, CA$4.75). There is construction near the Ambassador Bridge, and you will have to travel about 2.5 km on surface streets to reach the highways from the bridge. The delay at Customs is typically longer too. If you use the bridge, follow the detour signs. The detour changes periodically as the construction progresses, so no map is provided here.
Once at Gate 9, follow the map of the GM Campus to arrive that the VEC building.
Note: The directions from Windsor provided in these links may initially appear not to be the most direct. We nevertheless recommend them after consultation with the Michigan Department of Transportation. While mapping web sites are maintaining construction information in their databases, they will plot routes based on the closures in effect at the time you request the route. But certain roads and ramps are scheduled to close temporarily. If you print your map in advance, the recommended route may be out of date by the time you drive to the conference. The route we recommend here steers clear of areas that are expected to close periodically during the construction and works in reverse as well.
We will keep this page updated as we get more information. Please check this page as close to the conference as you can in case there are late surprises. Feel free to contact us with questions as well.
Directions from the 401 to the Windsor tunnel. Following these directions works in reverse as well [per Windsor City Hall].
Current delays entering the US and current delays entering Canada.
Canadian citizens must now show documentation of identity and citizenship to enter the US. Permanent residents of Canada probably need non-immigrant visas unless the resident carries a passport from a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program and has a program-compliant passport. General information about entry into the US and Canadian information regarding the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
Information about the border crossing back into Canada.
