Segway scooters banned in SF [Archive]

Casey

11-26-2002, 10:14 AM

quote:Segway scooters banned in SF

Bay City News Monday, November 25, 2002

(11-25) 21:32 PST -- San Francisco supervisors today banned the use of the Segway Scooter on city sidewalks, agreeing with senior advocates that the new technology poses a threat to the old, the young, and the disabled.

"It's a really big gizmo," said Supervisor Chris Daly, who sponsored the legislation. "You kind of lean on it and it takes off." He said he watched as one user trying it out failed to navigate with the small platform device and crashed into a wall.

Daly and other supervisors, who passed the ban 8-2, noted a lobbying effort adding up as high a price tag as $30 million nationwide had created pressure to allow the scooters. A recent state law permits local governments to regulate scooter use before the spring.

Senior Action Network members urged the ban be enacted at a rally on the steps of City Hall before today's meeting. "Whose sidewalk is it?" asked advocate Jeanne Lynch. She said the scooters, technically known as the electric personal assistive mobility devices, would not be affordable to seniors at several thousand dollars apiece.

But Supervisor Gavin Newsom, who voted no along with his colleague Leland Yee, said the scooters traveling up to 17 mph have all sorts of potential and should be tested before an out-and-out ban is enacted. He noted that a pilot project for U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in his northern San Francisco district seems to be going well.

Another supervisor who supported the ordinance said it could be amended later to permit specific uses, however.

While the 8-2 vote would normally be just enough to override a veto should Mayor Willie Brown take that step, one supporter will be gone by the time a final vote is taken in December. Supervisor Mark Leno is leaving to take office in the state Assembly, along with Supervisor Leland Yee who is also leaving to become part of that body.