February 5, 2003
BALANCE CHALLENGES?:
Segways on the Sidewalk: Scooters: a menace to pedestrians or a cure for clogged streets? (NICK BUDNICK, 1/29/2003, Willamette Weekly)For the past several months, a handful of Portlanders have been zipping around the streets--and sidewalks--on Segways. Last week, a pedestrian group took the first step at slowing them down.Initially known by its code name, "Ginger," the Segway Human Transporter is a push-mower-sized self-balancing electric scooter that will be sold to the general public in March.
"We are definitely not opposed to the Segway," says Ellen Vanderslice of the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition. "But we are very, very concerned about the use of it on sidewalks." [...]
Critics have described the Segway as the sidewalk's version of the SUV, tailgating and bullying pedestrians out of the way. "It's intimidating to pedestrians to have something that's going really fast next to them on the sidewalk," says Vanderslice, "especially pedestrians who have sensory, mobility or balance challenges."
Live Free or move to the Pacific Coast!
N.B. Okay, sensory challenged must mean blind. Mobility challenged would be folks with canes or whatever. What in Hades are the "balance challenged"? Klutzes?
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 5, 2003 3:04 PMBalance challenged is pc-speak for drunk.
Posted by: scooterboy at February 5, 2003 8:06 PMWhy not just equip the Segway with a horn?
Posted by: M Ali Choudhury at February 6, 2003 3:42 AMAli:
Why not wait to panic until just one pedestrian anywhere is hit?
I don't know what the Segway runs on, gas or electric? So I don't know if it will cut down pollutants, but, we always have people moaning, at least around St. Petersburg, at the dirth of pedestrians. It seems the Segway would be ideal to get people out and about, without their cars. Do they have a lot of pedestrian traffic in the areas these Segway prohibitionists are cropping up in?
Besides the Segways look darned fun! I know if my husband has any discretionary funds, he'll be lobbying for one.
And what are they going to do when those too mobile for a wheel-chair (think "walkers" or canes) discover that the Segway vastly increases their mobility? As for "SUVs of sidewalks", that description more properly applies to electric wheelchairs and those powered sit-down scooters.
The solution, of course, will be a stratified, class society where some are priviliged (the "-challenged" aka "handicapped" aka "crippled") and the rest of us.