Travelling to New York City

[khmb]

Hello, I'm a new member to Segway Chat. My wife has been using her Segway for about 3 years. She has multiple sclerosis and can't walk beyond 100 yds. We are going to NYC for vacation and taking the Segway. I've sent e-mails to NYPD and Ellis Island Park Service re: Segway use. A phone call back from the NYPD basically said don't bring it and the park service discouraged our use at the park due to logistics (but they would provide a wheel chair??).

What can my wife expect to encounter while riding on the sidewalks and parks in Manhattan? Can we take her Segway on the subway? Has anyone taken a Segway on the ferry to Ellis Island?

Also, United Airlines (SFO) will gate check the Segway, but will JFK airport allow her to ride out from the gate?

I appreciate your input.

Steve

[Tarkus]

Hello, I'm a new member to Segway Chat. My wife has been using her Segway for about 3 years. She has multiple sclerosis and can't walk beyond 100 yds. We are going to NYC for vacation and taking the Segway. I've sent e-mails to NYPD and Ellis Island Park Service re: Segway use. A phone call back from the NYPD basically said don't bring it and the park service discouraged our use at the park due to logistics (but they would provide a wheel chair??).

What can my wife expect to encounter while riding on the sidewalks and parks in Manhattan? Can we take her Segway on the subway? Has anyone taken a Segway on the ferry to Ellis Island?

Also, United Airlines (SFO) will gate check the Segway, but will JFK airport allow her to ride out from the gate?

I appreciate your input.

Steve

Calls to the NYPD on this kind of stuff is worthless. I have NEVER had a problem in NYC on my Seg, but I don't ride the subway.

I have a call into the City of New Yorks legal Dept. just to confirm what I already know , that the Segway when used as a mobility device may be used under ADA etal.

Ellis Island is another issue all together. The National Park Service. We at www.DRAFT.cc are in the process of getting the Park service to allow Segways but at this moment I can't say you can bring it.

JFK airport will not be a problem. I've done it a hundred times.

It would be helpful to fly a Handicap sticker on the Seg but that's a personal choice.

I will follow up after speaking with the city.

BE sure to print out and carry this info with you.
Important links from DRAFT:

http://www.draft.cc/draft3/Portals/0/DRAFT%20ADA%20Notice.pdf

http://www.draft.cc/draft3/Portals/0/KerrArticles/USDOT%20Segway%20Guidance.pdf



Alan

PS-From a former New Yorker you really don't need to go underground !!

[Tarkus]

Remember, if your Segway has the Lion batteries it MAY NOT BE CHECKED ON COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS.

[Sal]

Brought up in Bklyn and Queens, I now often visit my parents in NYC, and bring my Segway along. I have only had great responses from police and pedestrians alike, even in the crowds of Thanksgiving in November I was accepted welcomingly with smiles.

I would however, always have a doctor's note stating that your wife is using the Segway as a mobility aid in lieu of a wheelchair. It never hurts.

And as Alan pointed out, a $100 fine and [possible] confiscation of the Segway if ridden on the Subway.

-Sal

P.S. How far has DRAFT gotten with the parks service?

[Tarkus]

P.S. How far has DRAFT gotten with the parks service?

Making huge headway.

This is a long but quality read:

http://www.draft.cc/draft3/Portals/0/KerrArticles/Testimony%20Subcommittee%20on%20NPS_With%20Attachm ents%20Submitted.pdf

Jerry will tell more at "The Fest" i'm sure.

Regards,
Alan

[khmb]

Thank you for all of your input. We leave for NY today with less trepidation.

[Tarkus]

Thank you for all of your input. We leave for NY today with less trepidation.

Enjoy.

If you encounter any problems you need support for feel free to email or PM me.

Regards,
Alan

[djabbour]

I too have been around NYC on my i2 without a problem, yet. While most people smile, laugh, or complement me on the Segway, a few pedestrians have informed me (incorrectly) that "that's now allowed on the sidewalk." I have brought the i2 on the Subway (though not while riding it), and many NYC cops and MTA works saw me. I even asked one of them to explain how to enter the service gates. I’d say maybe the MTA’s page on bicycle safety might have some implications:

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/safety/bike/index.html

I was told by a fellow NY Segway user that a note from a doctor is usually sufficient to assuage any cop's questioning in the subway and that he has been stopped but 3 times in all the times he brings it on the Subway.

However, I've read a few posts here about ONE specific NYC cop giving people tickets. The odds of encountering him are slim, and the ticket isn't too expensive. Plus, with a disability you'd have ample evidence to dispute the ticket in court.

The office building I work in has another Segway user who rides his into the building every day. It gave me confidence to bring mine since security already knew how to handle them. They were pleasant, opened the door for me, and let me go right up to the elevators.

I wouldn't try to ride the Segway in a bike lane or in the park (they don't even allow Bikes on pedestrian paths in the park)... but perhaps someone else can shed more evidence on that matter?

Enjoy your trip to NYC, and good luck. Odds are you won't be stopped, and on the odd chance you are, some sort of proof of your wife's disability should be sufficient.