A new self-driving passenger
shuttle made its North American
debut at the University of
Michigan Mcity testing site
last month in the hopes it will
eventually be approved for
public usage.
The
shuttle,
named
the
ARMA, is manufactured by
the French company NAVYA
Technologies. It made its first
appearance in North America
in
Mcity,
the
University’s
simulated city and testing site
for driverless cars, according to
a University press release. The
shuttle, will be used to provide
self-guided tours of the facility.
Mcity was designed and is
operated by the University’s
Mobility
Transformation
Center, which partners with
auto manufacturers as well
as the U.S. and Michigan
Departments of Transportation
to
conduct
research
on
automated
and
connected
vehicles.
Using
installed
wireless
connection
channels,
“connected” cars will be able to
communicate with other cars
nearby in order to maximize
safety. Since 2013, MTC has
already
put
approximately
3,000 such cars on the streets
of Ann Arbor, according to MTC
Director Huei Peng.
Peng expects that getting
A
safe-passing
ordinance
went into effect in Ann Arbor
on Saturday requiring drivers
to maintain at least a five-
foot distance when passing
a
pedestrian,
bicyclist
or
wheelchair-user on the road.
The ordinance serves as a
reminder to drivers that bikers
are allowed on the road, and
that they should proceed with
caution
when
driving
near
them.
Originally passed by City
Council
in
December,
the
ordinance supports the Ann
Arbor
“Walk.Bike.Drive.”
campaign advocating for safe
roads for all types of transport
in the city.
If drivers fail to follow the
new rule, they could be ticketed
and fined $100, though whether
the situation warrants a ticket
will be up to police officers.
Violations will be treated as
civil infractions and will not go
on drivers’ records.
City Councilmember Kirk
Westphal
(D–Ward
2),
an
occasional
bike
commuter,
called the ordinance a positive
step forward for the city.
“I’ve
heard
of
several
occasions where novice cyclers
have gotten spooked by close-
passing vehicles and I think
that’s a real shame,” Westphal
said. “I believe that this can
begin signaling to drivers that
we all have a right to the road.”
Residents,
however,
did
not meet the ordinance with
unanimous support. Ann Arbor
resident Kathy Griswold feels
the new rule is good in theory,
but unnecessary for the city to
formally state.
“I believe it is basically
common sense,” Griswold said.
“And I don’t think the city has
the resources to educate the
public. I definitely support the
five-foot rule ... (but) Ann Arbor
sometimes passes these feel-
good legislations that they then
have no way to enforce.”
Griswold said real change
will be accomplished when a
unified state law is passed.
“I would like to see a state
law passed that will deal with
the
consistency
across
the
state,” Griswold said. “Without
that, I think this can be kind of
confusing.”
Ann
Arbor
has
long
been known as a city that
accommodates
all
types
of
transportation. According to
the city’s website, Ann Arbor
received a silver-level bicycle-
friendly city award from the
League of American Bicyclists
in 2013. There are 71.8 miles
of bike lanes throughout the
city, and since 2015, bicycle
parking has been required to
be included in all new building
Ann Arbor residents ware
head over heels for Polarity, a
new pole fitness studio located on
South University Avenue, which
celebrated its grand opening by
welcoming potential clients to
a two-day open house this past
weekend.
Polarity is the latest business
venture
by
University
alum
Jessie Lipkowitz, who also owns
the popular aUM Yoga studio
located in the same building. The
new studio consists of 14 poles,
a professional sound system, a
bathroom with full shower and a
staff room that enables the studio
to host catered events.
The open house welcomed
potential
attendees
to
meet
instructors, explore the space
and sign up for a free class
anytime that month.
Polarity manager Stephanie
MacDonald, who also works at
aUM Yoga and is a University
alum, was recently introduced to
pole-fitness through Polarity and
offered advice to potential clients
by sharing her own experience.
“The first class I went to, I was
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, January 9, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 4
©2016 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SPORTS MONDAY.........1B
Mcity tests
autonomous
bus ahead of
U.S. launch
HIV Monologues event challenges
stigma to raise disease awareness
See MCITY, Page 3A
MAX KUANG/Daily
Leseliey Welch, Deputy Director of the Detroit Department of Health, talks about the need for accessible HIV medications at the HIV Monologues in the UMMA on
Friday.
RESEARCH
French company utilizes University
facilities to debut self-driving shuttle
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
National Council of Negro Women, students and experts host speak-out event
More than 100 people gathered
in the auditorium of University of
Michigan Museum of Art Friday
night to attend the third-annual
“HIV Monologues,” an event
which held the goal of increasing
awareness and defeat stigmas
surrounding HIV/AIDS through
the presentation of poetry and
personal testimony.
At the beginning of the event
— which was presented by the
University’s
chapter
of
the
National Council of Negro Women
— LSA senior Shannon Palmer,
vice president of NCNW, shared
why spreading knowledge about
HIV was important to NCNW and
relevant in present day.
“We really brought it (HIV
Monologues) to campus to bring
awareness to HIV epidemic and
to educate our fellow students
on campus,” Palmer said. “We
acknowledge the fact that HIV
does
disproportionately
affect
all people, but especially African
Americans.”
The
event
featured
seven
poetry performances on HIV
contraction
performed
by
students such as LSA juniors and
siblings Micah and Mariah Smith,
who performed a poem written by
someone whose mom dated a man
COLIN BERESFORD
Daily Staff Reporter
See POLE, Page 3A
Polarity
invites all
to try pole
dancing
BUSINESS
Dance form an outlet for
physical wellness, mental
health improvement
ALEXIS RANKIN
Daily Staff Reporter
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Housing within the Ann Arbor city limit.
City ordinance requires drivers to stay
five feet from bicyclists, pedestrians
Safe-passing resolution carries penalty of $100 and civil infraction to violators
MAYA GOLDMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Rough start
The Michigan men’s basket-
ball team lost to Maryland
at Crisler Center on Satur-
day, dropping its conference
record to 1-2.
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See CYCLISTS, Page 3A
See SPEAKOUT, Page 3A
Find Your Ditto, a project
created
by
a
University
of
Michigan alum and a current
student in the School of Public
Health,
began
as
an
entry
into
a
University-sponsored
entrepreneurial
competition.
The project has evolved since
then and last month, it was
awarded
the
Lyfebulb-Novo
Nordisk
Innovation
Award
at the Innovation Summit in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
FYD is a mobile platform
which creates support groups
for people with hte same chronic
illnesses living in the same area.
The platform, while still in the
works, aims to relieve people
with chronic illness of common
feelings
of
depression
and
loneliness.
Co-founders Brianna Wolin,
who
graduated
from
the
University in April 2016, and
Parisa Soraya, a candidate for a
Master in Health Informatics
at the School of Public Health,
began working together after
Soraya reached out to University
students on Facebook. She was
See HEALTH, Page 3A
Alum wins
innovation
award for
health app
RESEARCH
Find Your Ditto program
aims to connect those with
similar chronic illnesses
ERIN DOHERTY
Daily Staff Reporter