By Bernie DeGroat
News and Information Services
Thanks to meticulous planning by the U-M Housing Division/City of Ann Arbor move-in task force, this year’s four-day move-in of nearly 10,000 students into University residence halls was one of the smoothest ever, say city and University officials.
“It went very well,” says Alan Levy, director of public affairs and information for the Housing Division. “There were some minor glitches, but the overall plans that had been worked on for months by the University and the city were largely successful.”
Levy attributes this year’s success in large part to the new designated move-in schedule, which began Aug. 30.
“People largely complied with the day they were supposed to move in,” he says. “The consequence was that we spread out the 9,700 people moving in over at least four days, and to some degree, with returning students, even longer.”
Move-in task force member Jeff Ellis of the Building Department, Office of the City Administrator, also believes the new move-in schedule helped ensure success.
“The staggered move-in was the real key,” he says. “Without that, I don’t think we could have been successful. It was required in order for all the pieces to fit together.”
Ellis also says that enhanced cooperation between the University, city departments and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) was essential for a smooth move-in.
“I don’t think in the past that we’ve had any coordination on the scale that we did this year,” he says. “That’s the reason this thing worked. We got everyone involved and I think that that had a tremendous impact on the success of move-in.”
In addition to less traffic congestion, this year’s move-in caused little trouble for patients visiting the Medical Center or for riders of AATA buses, Levy says.
Ellis adds that city officials and police had few complaints, as well.
“This was the most successful move-in we’ve ever had,” he says. “It took a lot of work, but we’ve set in motion something that’s going to be successful from now on.”
