State Wants to Make Way for Segway
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
Aug. 22, 2003
It's an odd-looking machine, this swift-moving dolly on a pair of oversized tires.
Some hail it as a slick, innovative tool of the new millennium.
Others dismiss it as a sidewalk-hogging geek magnet.
In any case, the Segway Human Transporter -- a battery-powered superscooter -- is pushing for space on America's sidewalks.
And Pleasant Hill, it turns out, may loan its suburban asphalt for a pilot project to study how the devices fit into a regional transportation puzzle.
In October, the state Department of Transportation wants to introduce a rental test program in the city with wide and "under-utilized" sidewalks.
People would be able to ride a Segway to the BART station in the morning and leave it there for a commuter getting off a train. This process would reverse at night.
BART, though, is still exploring the proposal and has not yet agreed to participate.
Issues of safety, liability and precisely where to allow the self-balancing transporters are also being hashed out.
"We're sort of jazzed about it," said Pleasant Hill City Manager Mike Ramsey. "This technology is fascinating. It introduces a totally new way of getting around."
The Segway HT, introduced by inventor Dean Kamen to flash bulbs of excitement in 2001, is a high-tech scooter that can zip along at 12 mph. It sells for about $5,000.
It uses dozens of individual parts, including gyroscopes and tilt sensors, allowing its upright user to manipulate direction by his or her own movements.
"This was a joyful invention that will open up incredible vistas," said Valerie Cheasty, a disabled lawyer who lives in Albany.
Cheasty, 52, tried one in San Francisco last year. She plans to buy two for her family.
"It feels like an extension of your own body," she said. "I felt coordinated, balanced and able-bodied."
But this chic new toy -- now legal in dozens of states, including California -- also stirs controversy.
Critics say the Segway is a potentially hazardous newcomer to sidewalks, where pedestrians already tangle with skaters and scooters.
America Walks, a national coalition of pedestrian activists, has adopted a tough stance against the transporter: "Nothing that moves faster than walking speed belongs in the space intended for walking."
Gov. Gray Davis signed a law last year allowing the devices on sidewalks -- but cities are still able to ban them or regulate how they are used.
A feasibility study for a pilot program in Pleasant Hill is being carried out by Innovative Mobility Research, affiliated with the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley.
So far, the plan calls for a nine-month test in which pre-screened riders would share their experiences navigating the streets to and from the BART station.
The test of alternative transportation, which would include Segway HTs and possibly electric bikes, would provide data about the economics of alternative transportation, liability, training, safety, pedestrian conflicts and other issues surrounding "low-speed modes."
Such a plan may encourage transit use, reduce short, smog-spewing auto trips and free up more parking. About 15 Segway HT units would be available for an hourly or monthly rental fee.
"It's a very interesting issue to research. In some ways, it's real ground-breaking," said Susan Shaheen, program director of Innovative Mobility Research.
"Some say it's almost like the introduction of a bike. It's a very complicated issue. Granting access to sidewalks is a serious issue that needs to be investigated fully."
Pleasant Hill is considered an attractive test site, with a nearby BART station ringed by residential neighborhoods and businesses.
Ramsey, the city manager, said the city offers "wide sidewalks and a forgiving kind of layout" that could make the program a success.
He added, though, that a lot of questions remain.
"Let's say we take one downtown to a restaurant. Will you be able to take it inside? Do you park it by the table, or leave it at the coat rack? If not, what do you do with it?"
Contra Costa Newspapers
Aug. 22, 2003
It's an odd-looking machine, this swift-moving dolly on a pair of oversized tires.
Some hail it as a slick, innovative tool of the new millennium.
Others dismiss it as a sidewalk-hogging geek magnet.
In any case, the Segway Human Transporter -- a battery-powered superscooter -- is pushing for space on America's sidewalks.
And Pleasant Hill, it turns out, may loan its suburban asphalt for a pilot project to study how the devices fit into a regional transportation puzzle.
In October, the state Department of Transportation wants to introduce a rental test program in the city with wide and "under-utilized" sidewalks.
People would be able to ride a Segway to the BART station in the morning and leave it there for a commuter getting off a train. This process would reverse at night.
BART, though, is still exploring the proposal and has not yet agreed to participate.
Issues of safety, liability and precisely where to allow the self-balancing transporters are also being hashed out.
"We're sort of jazzed about it," said Pleasant Hill City Manager Mike Ramsey. "This technology is fascinating. It introduces a totally new way of getting around."
The Segway HT, introduced by inventor Dean Kamen to flash bulbs of excitement in 2001, is a high-tech scooter that can zip along at 12 mph. It sells for about $5,000.
It uses dozens of individual parts, including gyroscopes and tilt sensors, allowing its upright user to manipulate direction by his or her own movements.
"This was a joyful invention that will open up incredible vistas," said Valerie Cheasty, a disabled lawyer who lives in Albany.
Cheasty, 52, tried one in San Francisco last year. She plans to buy two for her family.
"It feels like an extension of your own body," she said. "I felt coordinated, balanced and able-bodied."
But this chic new toy -- now legal in dozens of states, including California -- also stirs controversy.
Critics say the Segway is a potentially hazardous newcomer to sidewalks, where pedestrians already tangle with skaters and scooters.
America Walks, a national coalition of pedestrian activists, has adopted a tough stance against the transporter: "Nothing that moves faster than walking speed belongs in the space intended for walking."
Gov. Gray Davis signed a law last year allowing the devices on sidewalks -- but cities are still able to ban them or regulate how they are used.
A feasibility study for a pilot program in Pleasant Hill is being carried out by Innovative Mobility Research, affiliated with the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley.
So far, the plan calls for a nine-month test in which pre-screened riders would share their experiences navigating the streets to and from the BART station.
The test of alternative transportation, which would include Segway HTs and possibly electric bikes, would provide data about the economics of alternative transportation, liability, training, safety, pedestrian conflicts and other issues surrounding "low-speed modes."
Such a plan may encourage transit use, reduce short, smog-spewing auto trips and free up more parking. About 15 Segway HT units would be available for an hourly or monthly rental fee.
"It's a very interesting issue to research. In some ways, it's real ground-breaking," said Susan Shaheen, program director of Innovative Mobility Research.
"Some say it's almost like the introduction of a bike. It's a very complicated issue. Granting access to sidewalks is a serious issue that needs to be investigated fully."
Pleasant Hill is considered an attractive test site, with a nearby BART station ringed by residential neighborhoods and businesses.
Ramsey, the city manager, said the city offers "wide sidewalks and a forgiving kind of layout" that could make the program a success.
He added, though, that a lot of questions remain.
"Let's say we take one downtown to a restaurant. Will you be able to take it inside? Do you park it by the table, or leave it at the coat rack? If not, what do you do with it?"
posted by Corey at 8:13 PM
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