THE USE OF SEGWAYS
ON SANIBEL’S SHARED USE PATHS
The Segway is a clever and sophisticated personal transportation device. It has several positive features including the following: It is no wider than a bicycle. It has a speed in the same range, 6-12 MPH, as a bicycle. With proper training the Segway is easily ridden and controlled. Its use is limited to persons weighing in excess of 100 pounds which excludes its use by small children.
It does have disadvantages however. It adds more traffic onto the already busy path system. It weighs 83 pounds which could be a factor in a collision. It has a distance limit of 12 miles that will restrict its use on Sanibel to the most crowded areas in the city. It requires little physical exercise in contrast to cycling and other activities common to the users of our shared use paths, and thus has no real health benefits.
It is difficult to oppose the use of Segways on our shared use paths on technical or legal grounds. However, it must be understood that granting permission to allow guided tours on Segways will open the door to more widespread use. The cost of about $4000 per unit probably will not inhibit the purchase of Segways by the local population. These devices will only add to the already crowded condition of the paths, especially along the busiest stretch of Periwinkle where most crashes are now occurring. This safety problem will only get worse with the addition of more vehicles on the path. This may have the unintended consequence of forcing the bicyclist, especially the serious cyclist, to use the public streets which they are legally entitled to do.
The addition of another means of transportation obviously increases the probability of crashes and resultant liability issues. We can expect that the main areas of high density traffic will be on Periwinkle and its feeder paths…the very ones that today carry most of the load!
The only real solution is widening the paths. The Sanibel Bicycle Club has advocated this for at least 10 years. The latest Federal standards recommend a path width of 12 feet for two way operation. All the paths on Sanibel are two-way paths. Only 55 percent of the current shared use path is even 8 feet wide or more. Very little of this is 10 feet wide. Almost all of the remaining 45 percent is actually only 6 feet wide or less.
Therefore, the issue comes down to enhancing one of the
crown jewels of the City of
Ted Gasteyer
President, Sanibel Bicycle Club