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(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff) |
Globe Editorial
The dispute between North End residents and the company that offers Segway tours seems, at first glance, a cliché: finger-wagging guardians of tradition clash with tech-savvy outsiders. But in this case, the finger-waggers have a point. Segways, the motorized, upright machines that allow people to zoom along at four times the clip of average walkers, don’t make for safe or pleasant sidewalks in cramped cities. Boston should allow Segway riders to explore the streets, but keep them from trampling people who prefer to walk.
Consistently ranked as one of the country’s top walking cities, Boston is a charming place to discover on foot. But unlike cities such as Washington and Atlanta where Segway fleets run free, Boston has many narrow sidewalks not built for sharing among walkers, bikers, and motorized two-wheelers. Most sidewalks are off-limits to bikes because they are in commercial zones where pedestrians tread heavily. For similar reasons, San Francisco banned Segways from sidewalks several years ago. That may be too sweeping a rule for Boston, but the City of Boston and the Boston Gliders, the Segway tour company, should work together to determine appropriate places for Segway riders to roam, such as wide sidewalks and low-speed roads.
Segways are fun to ride, and make cities more accessible for people who have trouble walking or biking. Boston should welcome them as a way to draw tourists into neighborhoods. But crowding the sidewalks with Segways would taint Boston’s appeal to walking tourists and present a potential danger for people who live here. The best way to balance the tours with residents’ concerns is for the city to keep the two-wheelers a safe distance from foot traffic.
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