The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 3F

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 3F

AirRide bus service begins

Route will serve
Detroit Metro
starting April 2
By ANDREW SCHULMAN
Daily StaffReporter
APRIL 2, 2012 - With sum-
mer quickly approaching, stu-
dents may now have an easier
time finding their way home at
the end of the semester with the
assistance of AirRide - a newly
launched service that provides
daily roundtrip bus transporta-
tion from the Ann Arbor area to
the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne
County Airport.
The program - a collabo-
ration with Michigan Flyer,
a branch of the Indian Trails
Motor Coach transportation ser-
vice - will stop 12 times daily at
the Blake Transit Center and the
Kensington Court Hotel, located
off of State Street, as well as four
times at the University's Central
Campus Transit Center. Tickets
range from $6 to $20,a person,
depending on age and how far in
advance a ticket is purchased.
At the official announcement
of the service at the Kensington
Court Hotel on Friday, David
Nacht, a Law School alum and
AATA board member who spear-
headed AirRide's development,
lauded the service's affordability
and consistency of service to the
crowd of about 40 people.
"This is a big deal," he said.
"You're not going to wait two or
three hours. You need regular
services, and you need to know
that ad rely on that. We're
offering that."
Nacht said demand from
University officials was an
important factor in the service's
introduction, noting that he
surveyed the deans of the Uni-

versity's schools and colleges to
find out the biggest barrier to
attracting prospective faculty
and graduate students.
"Number one or two on every
dean's list were transportation
issues," he said. "The University
is the number one driver of traf-
fic to and from our community
from this airport, and so, this
is very much designed with the
University in mind."
Under current plans for the
service, AirRide may offer air-
port-bound riders parking for up
to 14 days at the Fourth Avenue
and East William Street parking
structure and at the Kensington
Court Hotel for $2 per day. It,
would also potentially share bus
stops with the Detroit SMART
bus system.
While the buses will stop
more frequently at the two off-
campus stops than they will at
the Central Campus Transpor-
tation Center, AATA officials
said they expect University stu-
dents to take advantage of the
service.
AATA board chairman Jesse
Bernstein said the service could
be a "perfect opportunity" for
students' parents to shuttle'
between Ann Arbor and the air-
port, adding that AirRide came
to fruition partly from the Uni-
versity's encouragement of the
plan to service their faculty and
staff.
"They're very supportive,
because they want to get their
people to the airport back and
forth cheaply and efficiently,"
Bernstein said. "They've been
very cooperative."
A variety of political fig-
ures were also present at the
announcement, including U.S.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.),
state Reps. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann
Arbor) and Rick Olson (R-York
Township) and Ann Arbor

Mayor John Hieftje.
Dingell said the cooperation
between the parties involved in
AirRide is a contrast from the
polarized climate in Washing-
ton, D.C.
"This is just one example
of how this community works
together," Dingell said. "I wish,
perhaps, as I come back from
Washington, I could come and
say that Congress is doing as
well."
Olson added thatirRide is
an important addition to the
city, noting that it serves as ful-
filling a "missing link."
"(In) every other city in this
county, when you wantto get to
downtown or wherever, there
are alternate ways of getting
there,"'Olson said. "Ann Arbor
doesn't have that other than a
cab, and that's a costy way, and
it's also not an energy efficient
way. Ann Arbor and Detroit -
it's an anomaly when it comes
to major cities in the United
States."
Kirk Steudle, director of the
state's department of trans-
portation and an attendee of
Friday's announcement, also
praised the service for its fulfill-
ment of Republican Gov. Sny-
der's transportation message
this fall.
In an interview in September,
AATA spokeswoman Mary Sta-
siak said the proposed service
was not intended to compete
with AirBus, an airport shuttle
sponsored by the Central Stu-
dent Government that runs
during breaks for University
students.
"(AirBus) service plays a very,
very important role when there
are a tremendous amountof pas-
sengers traveling between. the
airport and Ann Arbor at really
high-peak periods, and we don't
see ourselves replacing that at

Firefighters respond to the tornado in Dexter Michigan.
Tornado slams Dexter

Ann Arbor spared
as campus takes.
cover from storm
By ZACH BERGSON and
ANNA ROZENBERG and
ADAM RUBENFIRE
Online Editor, Daily Staff Reporter
ad Darly News Editor
MARCH 15, 2012 - DEXTER,
Mich. - As a result of a storm
that brought significant rain,
severe hail and gusting winds to
campus yesterday, several Uni-
versity buildings sustained dam-
age, while a tornado ravaged
the nearby towns of Dexter and
Pinckney.
No casualties or injuries were
reported by the Washtenaw
* County Emergency Management
agency as of 11 p.m. yesterday.
However, at the University, sig-
nificant leaking was observed
in the center hallway connect-
ing Mason and Angell Halls. At
the intersection of South State
and Arch Streets, about 2 feet
of standing water slowed cars
traveling near South Campus,
and water reached the hoods of
parked cars in front of the Ste-
phen M. Ross Academic Center
and the Athletic Ticket Office.
A tornado warning for Washt-
enaw County was issued after 5
p.m. yesterday evening, and the
University's Emergency Alert
system was activated, sending
text, e-mail and voice messages
to students, faculty and staff. The
system sent students four mes-
sages regarding the initial tor-
nado warning, an extension of
the warning, spotting of funnel
clouds and tornados, and finally
the expiration of the warning
and a subsequent thunderstorm
watch and flood warning.
Department of Public Safety
spokeswoman Diane Brown
said she did not have any details
regarding the leaks in Angell
Hall, but said there was "appar-
ent water" inside the Ross Aca-
demic Center.
University of Michigan
Health System spokesman Ian
Demsky said there was a small
leak in a stairwell in the Com-
prehensive Cancer Center and
that precautions were taken
to protect patients depending
on their condition and their
location in the hospital. He
said blinds were closed, some,
patients were moved into hall-
ways and other interior spaces,
and blankets were placed over
several patients to protect them
in case of shatterin glass from a
tornado impact.
Brown said the typical
response to a tornado warning
depends on the amount and type
of calls DPS receives. For exam-
ple, Brown said if there is a power
outage on campus, police officers
are often required to respond to
calls of individuals stuck in eleva-
tors.
Still, if severe weather is
reported close to the University,
Brown said officers will take
necessary precautions to protect
themselves.
"If it's really coming to cam-
pus, thenthey've got to take cover
for themselves," Brown said.
Ann Arbor Police, Housing
Security, and hlospital Security -

could all be heard over police
radio yesterday afternoon per-
forming checks to ensure that
University buildings took neces-
sary precautions to protect stu-
dents, staff and faculty.
LSA senior Courtney Fletcher
said she had been stuck in Angell
Hall for more than three and a
half hours waiting for the worst
of the weather to pass.
While the weather may have
interfered with her day, Fletcher
was not bothered studying in the
hallways alongside the leaks.
"I mean it needs to be fixed,
but now they know what's going
on so hopefully they fix it as soon
as possible," Fletcher said. "I'm
not worried aboutcanythinggoing
wrong. It's leaking but most
buildings leak."
Because of the inclement
weather, Central Student Gov-
ernment had to cancel its presi-
dential and vice presidential
debates that were scheduled for
yesterday evening.
CSG President DeAndree Wat-
son, who was
taking shelter
from the storm
in the Michigan
Union, said time
spent taking
shelter from the
storm allowed
him to get some
work done.
Watson said
conditions at
Angell Hall as
a result of the
storm are not fit
for students at
the University.
"We get heavy rainfall, we
start leaking and use trash cans
at the University of Michigan
- I don't think that's accept
able," Watson said. "We're going
to push hard to make sure we
improve our facilities."
A tornado that spurred
from the storm damaged and
destroyed several homes in near-
by Dexter and Pinckney in north-
west Michigan.
Dexter resident Victor Hola,
a nurse at the UMHS Cancer
Center, said the roof and garage
of his home near Hudson Mills
Metropolitan Park were torn
apart by the tornado. He said he
didn't suffer any injuries, but was
driving home when the tornado
touched down in his neighbor-
hood.
Scott Ferguson, Hola's partner,
said he did not hear any tornado
sirens go off when the tornado
warning was issued because his
neighborhood - located about
five miles away from the Village
of Dexter - does not have an
alert system. However, Ferguson
said he heard the warning over
National Public Radio broadcasts
and quickly took shelter in the
basement with his dog and cat.
Though he sustained no physi-
cal injuries, Ferguson said the
tornado ripping through his
home was a terrifying experi-
ence.
"I've never been so scared in
my entire life," he said. "Think of
ten freight trains coming at you
all at once and you can't move
that's what (the tornado) was
like."
Hola added that his neighbor's
garage and roof were also torn
off during the storm. The first

responders in the neighborhood
worked to remove fallen trees
and repair down power lines that
littered the streets.
In an e-mail interview yester-
day, Perry Samson, a professor of
atmospheric, oceanic and space
sciences, wrote that yesterday's
storms came as a "surprise" to
him so early in the year.
"Usually this time of year
we're worried about ice storms
and/or episodes of dense fog,"
Samson wrote. "This warm
weather is remarkable."
Samson wrote that the cause
for the storm isn't clear, as it
could be the result of several fac-
tors.
"No scientist worth their
salt will say this is due to global
warming because we know the
only thing normal about weather
is that it's rarely normal," Sam-
son wrote. "On the other hand,
no scientist worth their salt will
claim with certainty that this is
not related to a larger trend as
we frankly don't know with con-

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fidence how the warming of the
globe will affect specific weather
phenomena. We'd need to see a
trend on top of the wild fluctua-
tions that normal weather pres-
ents."
Samson added that examining
causes behind rarities in weather AO U SPS
is a major aspect of his course,
AOSS 102.U
"I am working on a review of
today's events and remain a bitEE T I P -
perplexed to be honest," Samson
wrote. "This storm happenedEC
away from any major fronts and
away from the jet stream where
we normally expect such storms
to develop. It was remarkably
slow moving (hence the flooding) TOWARDS ANY-SERVICE
and there were few indicators MINIMUM OF $100 PURCHASE REQUIRE[
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His class will be conducting
a donation drive for the Washt-
enaw County chapter of the
American Red Cross today and
Monday from 10 am. to 11 a m
in his class in Angell Hall Audi-
torium C. Samson wrote that
he will personally match the
first $500 of student donations - F NN AR 0
received during both class peri-
ods. Students lodking to contrib-
ute should bring cash or checksrwHUR
donations made out to the Ameri-
can Red Cross. During those A NN A R ,M
class periods, Samson will also
conduct an initial review of the s - -
severe weather.
-Daily News Editor Adam PAUUNE
Rubenfire and Daily Staff Reporter
Anna Rozenberg reported from A:M T u
Ann Arbor. Online Editor Zach
Bergson reported from Dexter.
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contributed to this report