Hey, there! Log in / Register
Citizen complaint of the day: Damn Segways
By adamg on Tue, 07/19/2011 - 10:00am
A vigilantly annoyed citizen complains about Segways on the sidewalk on Court Street. The Mayor's Hotline responds:
BPD and BTD currently working on newly passed ordinance.
That ordinance bans Segway tours on sidewalks, requires BTD to come up with designated Segway routes in the street. Naturally, the city's one Segway operator has sued.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
is that really...
a sidewalk? Looks more like the little plaza where people wait for a break in the traffic from cars coming off of Court onto Cambridge St.
Coming to a Supermarket near you: Segway
Last night a guy road his Segway through the aisles at Harvest. His right leg was in a brace. I assumed that while he could stand he could not walk on the braced leg. What I didn't see was how he was able to reach lower shelves without stepping off the Segway.
He drove the vehicle carefully and so I figure there was no danger of him running into anyone. On the other hand I've seen too many folks riding quick enough to be dangerous on pedestrian walkways. But then so do some bicyclists do the same as well.
Add to that the fact the many folks park on sidewalks.
Perhaps sidewalks just are no longer for walking. Time to invest in armored suits.
Which Harvest?
Which Harvest?
JP
It was the Harvest in Jamaica Plain.
"His right leg was in a brace." -- Did he have his "papers"?
"His right leg was in a brace." -- If I recall the ordinance correctly, a handicapped person with "papers" to prove it is immune from this particular law.
Not quite
The city said something about requiring PsWD to have papers to use a Segway as a mobility device, but the ADA trumps locals laws, and it states that a PWD cannot be asked for papers in a place of public accommodation and can only be asked "do you need this scooter/Segway/dog/oxygen tank because of a disability?" and once they say "yes," they're fine provided they're being basically responsible with whatever adaptive animal or item they have.
Well sure...
Exact location, but it's still a sidewalk.
how did they get there? via
how did they get there? via the sidewalk. where are they going? the sidewalk
do you mean
crosswalk? because sidewalks don't take you across the street to that plaza.
So from this pic you can tell where they came from and where they are going?
Were they going to or coming from city hall plaza, cuz I'd like to be able to interpret photos as well as you.
Does that law seem ridiculous
Does that law seem ridiculous to anyone else? So bikes can barrel down a sidewalk almost clipping pedestrians but a segway tour can't pull up onto a sidewalk to deliver their spiel?
segways should use bike lanes
I'd much rather dodge out of the way of a cyclist on a sidewalk, crosswalk, etc., than get crashed into by a heavy over-sized segway. How much do those silly vehicles weigh? Let's face it, segways are not designed for city sidewalks which are often crowded with pedestrians, parents with strollers, sandwich boards and such. It seems like a disaster waiting to happen if they would be restricted to bike lanes... though perhaps that's the only viable option.
Keep Segways off the sidewalk and the street.
As a bike rider I do not support this proposal.
And really you don't need to ban Segways. Just ban Segway tourism rides. Segways are so ridiculously stupid that most people would never buy one. Thus the elimination of said tourist groups would take some 90% of existing Segways in Boston off the road.
Of course if that changes and they do become more common I support the city making money by offering hunting licenses from the city clerk for a small fee.
Segways don't fit in Boston
The road would be a better place for Segways than Boston sidewalks or bike lanes. And the road is a terrible place for Segways.
So how many pedestrians have
So how many pedestrians have actually been run-over by a Segway? I think the number is.... none.
Let's keep it that way.
Let's keep it that way.
No Bikes on Sidewalks Either
It is illegal to ride your bike on the sidewalk. You can freely take issue with both segways and bikes, unless you are one of those people who rides their bike on the sidewalk, in which case, please stop. Bikes belong in the street and are supposed to follow traffic laws.
This has been gone over
This has been gone over numerous times in here, so for specifics do a search, but it is illegal to bike on the sidewalks only in certain areas of the city-- business districts I believe, but most of the city it is technically legal to ride on the sidewalk (not that most people ever would in 99% of those locations)
tourists
And you thought fat Midwestern tourists were annoying when they'd waddle around the sidewalk in a daze while people were trying to get places. Now fat Midwestern tourists don't even need to waddle, and have machines to drive residents out of their way.
I see them all the time . . .
. . . on the sidewalks and the tour guides keep them grouped nicely in single file lines and I have never seen them cause any problems- even during the Bruins celebration day when downtown was packed.
not in my experience
You must not see them in the North End by the waterfront all of the time then. They are NOT in a single file. They are fanned out and riding at speeds unsuitable for crowded tourist areas full of kids and people who can't dash out of the way of an unskilled segway rider. They're obnoxious. How about we start allowing go-karts tours on sidewalks as well?
Construction equipment tours
How about offering tours in vintage road construction equipment? Your chance to operate a genuine steam-powered steam roller?
giggle
...chuckle
Actually . . .
. . . that is precisely where I see them and I have never seen them out of single file line on the sidewalk- and I'm a people watcher too- I sit in one location for a couple hours and I see them go back and forth three or four times in a sitting and I don't see them do that sort of thing. Could be just where I sit - but I don't see them fanning out on the sidewalk and blocking people or disrupting things.
Illegal.
Bottom line is it's illegal. Three years worth of hearings, unanimously banned by city council, signed by the mayor, request for restraining order denied. Now enforce it.
Well . . .
. . . if that much has gone into the issue then that beats my personal observations. No Segways on sidewalks then.
Silly Segways
Don't grown people feel silly on those Segways? They certainly look silly rolling around the business district of an urban area. Kind of like the 35 year olds one sees on skateboards or rollerblades.