Zoot Katz <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| 10 Jan 2003 10:18:22 -0800,
| <
[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Isaac Brumer) wrote:
|
| >This one really got me laughing; "The Segway's best hopes may now rest with suburban areas -- not
| >the cities that the company originally hoped to decongest." Cities become decongested if their
| >populations are reduced or their areas increase. How does the journalist think cities would
| >become less congested if the "footprint" of each ped more than doubles? "Provide mobility?" OK,
| >but "decongest?" Ha!
| >
| >Isaac
|
| Because there are more boneheads who drive less than 5 miles than who will walk one mile.
| Congestion caused by vehicular traffic is undesirable in a city. It's noisy, smelly, filthy and
| dangerous.
|
| Congested pedestrian zones are what give a city life by attracting even more pedestrians.
|
| You don't have to increase the area of a city to increase its capacity for sustaining human
| activity. Just stop paving it and start to build housing on the parking lots. Tear out the
| freeways and put in light rail. All of a sudden there's at least 30% more land.
| --
| zk
....And no way to deliver goods and services to the populace.
Perhaps I'll buy into your 'fantastic' scenario when I see the power company electricians, complete
with 40' ladders riding light rail into your euphoria to repair the electrical service... wait, now,
what powers the train? You, as an isolated individual might well exist without having your name on
the title of a motor vehicle, but rest assured, those who are responsible for your welfare, will
rely on motor vehicles to provide that service, as far into the future as can be imagined. My $0.02
on the Segway is I doubt it will ever be much beyond something resembling a semi-human powered fork
lift, used in warehouses, mail rooms and such.In it's current offering, I doubt it could maneuver in
the real world that experiences a variety of weather, and road conditions. ED3