City Hall needs to get moving for Segway bill to pass
Alderman Lyda Krewson is hoping colleagues will move along her Segway bill before the session runs out.
Back in January, Krewson introduced legislation to require a permit to use a Segway - battery-powered transportation devices gaining popularity- on Forest Park trails.
But the plan has been delayed by weather and, perhaps, some input from Room 200.
A snow storm helped pushed back the original hearing weeks ago at the Science Center - which stood to gain from the original proposal.
The first draft of Krewson’s plan would make park institutions like the Science Center, which owns a fleet of the electric chariots, the only licensed “providers” of Segway tours on park trails.
This, of course, has irked a private company, Glide St. Louis Tours, that also offers Segway trips in the park.
Mayor Francis Slay’s office, though, has different concerns. Disabled individuals are frequent users of the Segway, which, to some, offers a much better option than a wheelchair.
Requiring a permit to operate a Segway on the sidewalk could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“If people can walk on the trails, people who need assistive technologies to use the trails will also be able to without a permit,” Slay wrote on his blog.
That suggests Krewson will have a retooled bill when she goes before the Parks Committee tomorrow morning.
The 9 a.m. hearing is in the Leisure Room near the board chambers — Segway parking in the hall?
Nice Segway!
Gosh Jake! Don’t encourage them to pass this nonsense!