FYCs? The quote of Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) contains statistics that might come in handy. Mike --------- Forwarded message ---------- Howdy. My first post here. I'm a 50 yr.old pedestrian/transit user in downtown Toronto. In May I gave up my $95 monthly transit pass in favour of a little 50lb. standup kick scooter that has a battery assist. I've been driving it on streets, sidewalks and paths almost daily since February. The <400watt electric motor boosts me up little hills and along flats, but otherwise it's like a little game about how *not* to use the tiny amount of battery power available, as the scoot can be kicked without using the motor and it coasts just fine on the downhills, with great brakes and a sturdy frame.
I am a sidewalk surfer primarily. My speeds are dictated by what's around me. My only rule so far "Nobody around me is nervous". Mixed with pedestrians I am walking, then kicking and powering the scoot to jogging speeds as the sidewalk traffic thins out (yes, kicking the scoot is good exercise!) Suburban sidewalks along larger streets are empty of pedestrians and the scoot might hit 20kph under power and on the downhills. Because I *am* mixed in with the pedestrians and bike traffic, every trip includes a talk and show and tell about this little vehicle. Over a few hundred conversations, I would say the average "person on the street" (literally) has been very positive about the scoot. My scoot is very quiet (the electric motor is silent) and leaves no exhaust as it goes by. I also believe it is safer for me than a bike, and safer for my fellow pedestrians around me too, than a full-sized bike or vehicle. Would anyone here ban my little personal electric vehicle from your area bike/walk paths? Over 12% of the land area of my city is parkland, including many miles of paths. Just curious. Thanks Lock ps... My tranportation cost now less than 2 cents a kilometer with the scoot. That's including electricity (but the scoot plugs in anywhere and no one has asked me to pay yet.) pps... My little scoot is illegal to operate on any road or sidewalk in Canada. > Gasoline powered devices are prohibited on the Lakefront Path AFAIK. Police will let the air out of the tires of gasoline powered scooters they catch on the path. > > This year the only motorized vehcile I've seen on the path is a Chicago cop riding a Segway. I don't even see those new electric scooters you sit on, and I am on the path quite a bit in the summer-- last Saturday from North Ave. to 71st, yesterday from 71st to Fullerton, today from 71st to Monroe. > > Perhaps the city bicycle coordinator Ben Gomberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> would know more.> ----------- > "Nationally there are over 1 million daily commuters and > nearly 57 million people who report regular bicycling > activities. According to a recent poll, over half of > Americans want to bike more than they do now. Currently, > less than one percent of all transportation funds spent > each year are directed toward bicycle and pedestrian > facilities. Yet bicycling and walking account for at least > 7 percent of trips and 13.3 percent of traffic fatalities." > --Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
