Builders keep mapmakers busy

David Coates / The Detroit News Donald Frey, co-owner of LandGrafix Inc., is busy revising maps because of the dozens of miles of streets added yearly.

New developments require constant updating of charts

By John Bebow / The Detroit News

    TROY — “We’re running out of room!” Donald Frey exclaimed, stabbing his index finger into a map of Canton.

    It’s one of dozens of maps his Troy-based company, LandGrafix Inc. makes for school districts, governments, ambulance services and delivery companies. It’s a good business, akin to running a funeral home. People never stop dying. And developers never stop building new neighborhoods. There are dozens of new subdivision streets to map each year in Metro Detroit.

    Among life’s inverse relationships is this one: The shorter the street, the longer the street name. Try fitting the words “New Providence Way” on a quarter-inch line on a map.

    Frey’s answer: Number the streets and draw an arrow to some still-vacant land farther out, where he can print the street names. Problem is, the vacant land is quickly disappearing in townships such as Canton in western Wayne County, Macomb in northern Macomb County, and Lyon in western Oakland County.

    As problems go, this is a good one. Every new subdivision is a new opportunity for LandGrafix. Clients need new, detailed maps every year. Otherwise, missed streets can add hours to daily delivery routes or risk lives if ambulance drivers can’t quickly negotiate new subdivisions.

    “I’m a beneficiary of all this, I guess,“ Frey said, looking at a new street map of Macomb Township that has twice as many streets as his 1995 version. “But it’s not without a price. This whole country was founded on migration. This is the 21st-century version of it.”