Assignment
1: The Segway
I imagine that access to a Segway would change my life in some ways, but not hugely. My commute to school is presently a 15 minute walk from Fulton and Haste to the SIMS South Hall building. If I used a Segway, that three-quarter mile walk would be reduced to a five-minute ride. Shorter, but the time to get the Segway out of my garage, and the time to lock it at my destination would probably not reduce the commute time too much. However, I believe that the ease of carrying books, laptop and other items might make the trip more pleasant. The downside would be that I would have less built-in exercise in my daily routine.
I understand from a friend currently doing traffic studies for the Segway that parking and locking the Segway will work similarly to bikes. The Segway will have a small, unique magnetic key that will allow the machine to start and run, as well as regulate the speed. For example, the key could be set to keep a Segway from traveling more than 3 miles per hour. Parents might set this low speed maximum to keep children from traveling too fast, and then reset the key for their own use at a higher setting. The Segway would also be locked with a U-Lock bike lock. However, I am skeptical about this part of the security system. This is partly based on the fact that my downstairs neighbor, on disability with lots of free time, has been the bicycle thief of Berkeley for the past 30 years. Typically, he collects three or four bikes a day. He might trade up to stealing the more expensive Segway, since he knows how to beat the U-Lock mechanism.
I think the Segway might have a cup holder of some sort for water or coffee. But since I have coffee at home, the Segway would not change my current routine. However, if I did have coffee on the way to SIMS, I would imagine that stopping to pick up something would be relatively simple. The challenge would be consuming the drink while traveling and maintaining control. Since I have not tried a Segway, the balancing of a drink is an unknown. But on my bike, I have some trouble drinking water and riding fast, so this might also be a problem on the Segway.
My biggest concern for myself would be where to ride the Segway from my house. I live at the corner of two one-way streets, both heading away from UC Berkeley. I have some bike lanes between the UC campus and me, but I think I would alter my route. Currently, I walk up Fulton (opposite the flow of car traffic) from Haste to Channing, then right onto Channing for two blocks, then a left onto Ellsworth (again opposite the flow of car traffic) for two blocks. Then I travel diagonally across lower Sproul plaza, to the path next to the creek, continuing right up to Sather gate, and then after passing through the gate and over the creek bridge, turning right up to South Hall. Since this route requires walking on the sidewalk in the opposite direction of auto traffic, I could only follow parts of it with a Segway on the sidewalk. I would opt for taking the sidewalk on Fulton, in the opposite direction of auto traffic, which has little foot traffic on the sidewalks, to Bancroft. I would then take Oxford, in the same direction as traffuc, to one of the campus roads, and follow that up through campus to South Hall.
I would also probably wear more cloths, since riding on the Segway would not require much physical action and is probably exposed to more airflow. I would equate this somewhat to a bike ride, but even a bike ride requires a certain amount of physical exertion, especially uphill, which is warmer than just standing on the Segway. Currently, I am somewhat warm walking briskly up to campus.
For me, the most interesting part of the Segway would be its impact on Berkeley. Currently, California has not yet allowed the Segway but SB1918 just cleared the state senate, and therefore will soon be on the Governor’s desk. The bill allows cities to decide whether to allow the Segway at all, and if so, to regulate its use. Of the 31 states that have already allowed the Segway’s use, half allow sidewalk use and the rest mandate bike lane use. I would think Berkeley would require Segway use in the bike lanes, as is already required for roller blades and bikes, although bikes are currently allowed on some sidewalks. However, according to my friend doing the Segway traffic study, the great majority of bike accidents occur on sidewalks, although he could not get figures on whether those accidents involved pedestrians or other bikes, or just the rider himself. But my guess is that some pedestrians would not want to compete with Segways, based on the Chronicle article mentioned in the assignment description, as people may feel vulnerable walking with Segways in the same physical space. On the other hand, bicyclists might feel insecure competing with Segways in the bike lane, as Segways appear to have a larger width. However, they are the same width as the handlebars on a bike and the shoulders of a bike rider, as well as the width of a wheelchair. But bike riders can twist in a tight situation, turning their shoulders side ways, as well as their handlebars, in a pinch. Segways would remain the same width moving forward, and so would seem to be a little less flexible. Also, bike riders can get off and walk their bikes, where as Segway riders would probably not do this, as the Segway appears to be set up to move only when a rider is on it, pressing the foot control forward.
Another option for cities would be to bar the Segway from business districts, as some currently bar push scooters. This is done to keep scooters out of high foot traffic areas, while allowing them as transportation elsewhere. The city could regulate speeds, and one option might be to allow sidewalk use below a certain speed, and allow bike lane use above that speed. The city could also require insurance, which might cause the insurance companies to regulate their insured by requiring a low key setting on their insured Segways. Insurance companies could also require bike lane use for their insured.
The way people interact in Berkeley might change as well due to the Segway. If large numbers of people adopted them, people’s behavior towards each other would probably alter, but I’m not sure whether it would make the situation better or worse. I have had a theory for the past five years about the Bay Area, that we have achieved parity with New York, in terms of the struggle to maintain a civilized life here. This is due to economic pressures, as well as the increased number of people wanting to live in the same place. I have seen Berkeley become increasingly tense over the twelve years that I’ve lived here, and have seen the level of civility decrease. Also, I struggle more to be civilized, and treat people in a civilized way, and witness more uncivilized behavior. This is purely anecdotal, but I wonder how the Segway might alter what I see in the community.
For example, I shop at the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace, and experience tension in the parking lot, even though I will not park there, as I walk through the parking lot to get to the store, as well as in the store shopping, and in the check out lines. Almost weekly, I witness altercations between shoppers over parking places, items to purchase, where carts are left during shopping, and where people are in checkout lines. I do not know how much of this is due to competition in Berkeley as people drive and park, but it is possible that the Segway might relieve some of this pressure by allowing people to transport themselves and groceries by another method than cars. If more people used the Segways for all short trips, it’s possible they would arrive at various shopping destinations less tense and therefore be more conciliatory while shopping. Also, the result of fewer cars on the road and in the parking lot might mean that the remaining drivers would feel less competition and therefore fewer altercations might occur in the parking area.
Conversely, many Segway users might cause the situation at the Bowl to worsen, as many people attempt to park and lock the Segway in front of the store, which has some room but not necessarily enough to accommodate large numbers. The same altercations experienced in the car parking area might then carry over to the Segway parking area, and the tensions already experienced at the Bowl might encompass users of this new technology. The Segway’s reduction on car use might not be enough to alter the overall pressure on Berkeley citizens. Also, the Bowl might have to alter the front area of the store and the entry sidewalks to accommodate Segways. Faced with the expense of changing their relatively new store entryway, they might bar Segways from this area, causing Segway riders to park out on Adeline or Shattuck. Since there are no bike racks out on the street near the Bowl, Segway riders would have trouble locking to something, and the City of Berkeley might then be forced to step in and install bike/Segway lock areas.
Another area the City might consider regulating could be use of walkmans, cell phones and food and beverage consumption while driving a Segway. However, I would think that the City would wait to see how users are performing and others are responding before deciding whether to regulate these behaviors. The non-Segway riding public will decide how they feel about Segway technology depending on who adopts this technology in the beginning, and their initial behavior while riding them. Early adopters might include technophiles, the disabled, employees of companies that want to promote public transportation use, as well as those with access to early rental programs. There is a program being explored to have a couple of test cities in the east bay have Segways available from Bart stations for day use by commuters.
I do not anticipate getting a Segway right away, partly because I am so well situated within the City of Berkeley and typically do not drive within the downtown and to campus. I only have a couple of blocks to travel to get to many different services and activities. However, as I watch user’s behavior, I might consider this option for transport and widen the physical range of services I use to beyond short walking distance from my house. I do not fear having users on sideways because I think it would be similar to having motorized wheelchairs on sidewalks. I am optimistic about the adoption of the Segway as I believe overall that it will have a positive effect on commuting and traffic flow.