City Council to consider Segways on sidewalks and trails this Tuesday

[Bruce England]

Hello all:

I plan to speak my two cents on this as shown below, but I wanted to let you know in case you'd care to chime in.

Bye for now!
Bruce

Although I'm very much in favor of any changes within the city that get people out of their gas-powered vehicles, I have strong reservations about Segways being permitted on sidewalks, which is one allowance now being discussed. Incredibly,  at least as implied by current Mountain View City Code (which, by the way, could stand a revision to address existing ambiguity in the rules), bicycle riding is  allowed on sidewalks (except in the business district) (Ord. No. 175.587, 1/25/60). In my observation, bicyclists take to the sidewalks all too often in Mountain View, and their presence there poses both a real and perceived hazard for pedestrians  who encounter them. Allowing Segways as one more mode of transport on sidewalks  will exacerbate an already-present use conflict and will send the wrong message  to all bicyclists, skateboarders, scooter riders, etc. who ought to be using the shoulder of the road for such transport. If they do not feel safe there, then this is an issue for the City to explore and improve if possible.

Regarding Segways in particular, each weighs over 100 pounds and even more with  cargo bags. When Segway riders encounter those with strollers or in wheelchairs, will they be required to hoist their vehicles out of the way? Similarly, for those walking dogs, which are likely to be startled by an approaching Segway, will the rider be required to stay clear of the animals?

So far, everyone I've spoken with in Mountain View is not in favor of allowing Segways on sidewalks, and all of the correspondence I saw addressed to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee took the same view. Granted, these details don't provide scientifically sound results, but they do suggest that Segway riders are alone in asking for these new allowances. And given that there are far more pedestrians, or potential pedestrians, in Mountain View than there are Segway riders, I believe that pedestrian interests should prevail.

Finally, even if a one- or two-year trial period for Segway use on sidewalks is  established, I doubt that the City would have an easy time reversing the allowance if they chose to do so.