[sustran] Re: Segway is environmental or sustainable?

[Ibike/International Bicycle Fund]

In the same vain we did a brochure on "shared responsibility" back in the
1980's (see www.ibike.org/education/trail-sharing.htm).  It is amazing how
much flack we got for not be explicit that "bicyclist must do this" and
"pedestrian must do that", etc.

While I am not an advocate of Segways, as a general rule, I think we should
embraces transportation _choice_, to the extent possible have all users of a
given facility using the same set of rules, and only exclude a mode for
specific cause.

It is our challenge to create an environment where people want to choose
bikes or walking.

Kind regards,
David Mozer

International Bicycle Fund - www.ibike.org
Promoting sustainable transport and understanding worldwide.
A non-profit organization.

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+intlbike=ibike.org at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+intlbike=ibike.org at list.jca.apc.org] On
Behalf Of Todd Alexander Litman
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 9:23 AM
To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport;
carfree_network at lists.riseup.net; NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [sustran] Re: Segway is environmental or sustainable?



There has been considerable debate about the appropriate role of Segways in 
a sustainable transportation system. The concern is not just that some 
people will shift from walking or cycling to motorized travel, but that 
Segways will create conflicts on sidewalks and paths, reducing total 
walking and cycling.

However, Segways are just one of many Personal Mobility Devices (PMD), 
which also include skates and skateboards, scooters, handcarts and bicycles 
(and let's not forget joggers, pedestrians with dogs on leash, and 
equestrians). I prefer to generalize this issue, and develop guidelines and 
best practices for managing nonmotorized facilities to minimize conflicts 
between various types of users. This means determining where and when 
various PMDs should be allowed or prohibited on sidewalks and paths, and 
establishing rules that they must follow, including maximum speed and their 
requirements for yielding to other facility users. For discussion of this 
issue see "Managing Personal Mobility Devices On Nonmotorized Facilities" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/man_nmt_fac.pdf).

Please let me know if you have comments about this paper.


Best wishes,
-Todd Litman