I found this news-report about the Segway Tours in Mt Dora, my hometown. I have said many negative things about this overpriced tourist activity but truthfully I am glad to see such a small town have such a modern way of showing tourist around it. As a local its my obligation and duty to complain about all new things, espcially those that bring tourist to our small quaint town, lol. I do wish that the sidewalks and areas the Segway were would be wider so that both tour goers and none tour goers can enjoy the sidewalks together.
The video made me think about ways in which we can begin to re-imagine our towns. Yesterday I enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving meal with my family and a family friend at the Columbia in Celebration, Fl. Celebration is known for its Segway users, often you can see children on their way to school using Segways or just yesterday we watched as a family rode them up to the restaurant from across the park.
Sadly Segways are nothing more than rich man's toy these days (though yesterday I did see a amputee using a three wheeled off brand Segway instead of a large, difficult to maneuver wheelchair). But how can we design our cities to use this technology for good? What about Segway only trails near schools? Or wider bike lanes that Segways could also use? Segway charging stations on buses and trains?
As the technology ages the price will be lowered and these 'rich man toys' will soon be popular with the general population. I hope that by that point we stop ignoring this great technology and instead build our cities to adapt to it.
Now back to those reports, urgh...
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