Itsi Atkins
04-01-2004, 04:40 PM
The effort of all and the statements of the NYNY owners helped in the Council's hearing to ban scooters including the Segway. Their is much more support necessary before the Segway is 100% legal on the sidewalks of NYC. Hang in and keep the faith and read the following news.
Staten Island Adviser
Mayor opposes proposed ban on motor scooters Aides from Transportation
and
Consumer Affairs agencies testify against Councilman McMahon's bill
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
By MICHAEL SCHOLL
The Bloomberg administration has come out against Councilman Michael
McMahon's proposal to ban the sale and use of motorized scooters
throughout
New York City.
David Woloch, a deputy commissioner with the city Department of
Transportation, and Pauline Toole, an assistant commissioner with the
city
Department of Consumer Affairs, testified against McMahon's anti-scooter
bill during a City Council Transportation Committee hearing yesterday in
City Hall.
Motorized scooters capable of traveling up to 40 mph have become popular
with teen-agers and younger children.
But McMahon (D-North Shore) and others believe the devices pose a safety
threat to pedestrians and generate excessive noise.
"To have children driving around at 30 or 40 miles an hour on scooters,
in a
city of 8 million people with tractor-trailers and other type of
vehicles on
the road that can't even see these things, is just unacceptable,"
McMahon
said.
His bill is aimed at closing a loophole that allows stores to sell
motorized
scooters -- even though state law prohibits their use on public streets
and
sidewalks.
It would ban such sales within the city and would also prohibit the use
of
scooters on private property.
But Woloch testified that McMahon's bill was unnecessary because
prohibitions in the state Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) are sufficient
to
deal with the problem of reckless scooter use.
"While we support the Council's intent, the current provisions in the
VTL
address this issue," said Woloch, who said the key to cracking down on
scooters is stricter enforcement of existing law.
'PLAGUE-LIKE SWARMING'
In her testimony, Ms. Toole said McMahon's call for a ban on scooter
sales
was too far-reaching, given that scooters are legal on private property
and
in other jurisdictions.
"This bill would prohibit local stores from selling the devices for
customers seeking them for legitimate uses," she said.
Ms. Toole also said that a ban on sales may be ineffectual if sales are
not
similarly banned in other parts of the metropolitan area.
"Banning them in New York City would then just force purchasers to take
their business outside the city," Ms. Toole said.
McMahon responded to the officials' testimony by criticizing them for
supporting a status quo leading to what he described as a "plague-like
swarming" of unsafe and noisy scooters.
"I'm flabbergasted by what I just heard here this morning," McMahon
said.
Later, the committee heard from several people who use the Segway Human
Transporter, the silent and non-polluting personal transportation device
unveiled in 2001 by inventor Dean Kamen.
Unlike conventional motorized scooters that run on gasoline-powered
engines,
the Segway relies on an electric battery and can only travel about 10
mph.
Yet because the Segway has a motor, it falls into the category of
motorized
scooters that would be banned under McMahon's bill.
AMENDING THE BILL
Yesterday, Segway users begged the committee to amend the bill so its
prohibitions would not apply to Segways.
"We see this legislation as lacking all nuance and doing more damage
than
good," said Harris Silver of the pro-Segway group Citystreets.
After the hearing, McMahon stressed that his bill is aimed at combating
gas-powered scooters and that he would consider changing the
legislation so
that it doesn't apply to Segways.
Several people also testified in favor of the bill, including Michael
Morrell, president of the Westerleigh Improvement Society.
"Over the past few years the society has received numerous complaints
from
area residents concerning the operation of motorized scooters in our
community," Morrell said.
"The operators of these scooters are primarily youths who operate them
recklessly."
Representatives from Transportation Alternatives and the American Lung
Association also testified in favor of the bill yesterday.
The bill would impose a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail and a $1,000
fine
on anyone who sells, leases or rents a motorized scooter to another
person.
It also says anyone caught using a motorized scooter within city limits
could be hit with a $500 fine and could have the scooter impounded.
As currently worded, the bill would not apply to wheelchairs or to other
mobility aids used by disabled people.
Council minority leader James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) and
Councilman
Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) are not among the 21 Council members who
have
signed on as co-sponsors of McMahon's bill.
But yesterday the two Islanders said they would support the measure if
it
were changed to exempt Segways from its provisions.
Michael Scholl covers City Hall for the Advance. He may be reached at
scholl@siadvance.com.
Staten Island Adviser
Mayor opposes proposed ban on motor scooters Aides from Transportation
and
Consumer Affairs agencies testify against Councilman McMahon's bill
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
By MICHAEL SCHOLL
The Bloomberg administration has come out against Councilman Michael
McMahon's proposal to ban the sale and use of motorized scooters
throughout
New York City.
David Woloch, a deputy commissioner with the city Department of
Transportation, and Pauline Toole, an assistant commissioner with the
city
Department of Consumer Affairs, testified against McMahon's anti-scooter
bill during a City Council Transportation Committee hearing yesterday in
City Hall.
Motorized scooters capable of traveling up to 40 mph have become popular
with teen-agers and younger children.
But McMahon (D-North Shore) and others believe the devices pose a safety
threat to pedestrians and generate excessive noise.
"To have children driving around at 30 or 40 miles an hour on scooters,
in a
city of 8 million people with tractor-trailers and other type of
vehicles on
the road that can't even see these things, is just unacceptable,"
McMahon
said.
His bill is aimed at closing a loophole that allows stores to sell
motorized
scooters -- even though state law prohibits their use on public streets
and
sidewalks.
It would ban such sales within the city and would also prohibit the use
of
scooters on private property.
But Woloch testified that McMahon's bill was unnecessary because
prohibitions in the state Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) are sufficient
to
deal with the problem of reckless scooter use.
"While we support the Council's intent, the current provisions in the
VTL
address this issue," said Woloch, who said the key to cracking down on
scooters is stricter enforcement of existing law.
'PLAGUE-LIKE SWARMING'
In her testimony, Ms. Toole said McMahon's call for a ban on scooter
sales
was too far-reaching, given that scooters are legal on private property
and
in other jurisdictions.
"This bill would prohibit local stores from selling the devices for
customers seeking them for legitimate uses," she said.
Ms. Toole also said that a ban on sales may be ineffectual if sales are
not
similarly banned in other parts of the metropolitan area.
"Banning them in New York City would then just force purchasers to take
their business outside the city," Ms. Toole said.
McMahon responded to the officials' testimony by criticizing them for
supporting a status quo leading to what he described as a "plague-like
swarming" of unsafe and noisy scooters.
"I'm flabbergasted by what I just heard here this morning," McMahon
said.
Later, the committee heard from several people who use the Segway Human
Transporter, the silent and non-polluting personal transportation device
unveiled in 2001 by inventor Dean Kamen.
Unlike conventional motorized scooters that run on gasoline-powered
engines,
the Segway relies on an electric battery and can only travel about 10
mph.
Yet because the Segway has a motor, it falls into the category of
motorized
scooters that would be banned under McMahon's bill.
AMENDING THE BILL
Yesterday, Segway users begged the committee to amend the bill so its
prohibitions would not apply to Segways.
"We see this legislation as lacking all nuance and doing more damage
than
good," said Harris Silver of the pro-Segway group Citystreets.
After the hearing, McMahon stressed that his bill is aimed at combating
gas-powered scooters and that he would consider changing the
legislation so
that it doesn't apply to Segways.
Several people also testified in favor of the bill, including Michael
Morrell, president of the Westerleigh Improvement Society.
"Over the past few years the society has received numerous complaints
from
area residents concerning the operation of motorized scooters in our
community," Morrell said.
"The operators of these scooters are primarily youths who operate them
recklessly."
Representatives from Transportation Alternatives and the American Lung
Association also testified in favor of the bill yesterday.
The bill would impose a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail and a $1,000
fine
on anyone who sells, leases or rents a motorized scooter to another
person.
It also says anyone caught using a motorized scooter within city limits
could be hit with a $500 fine and could have the scooter impounded.
As currently worded, the bill would not apply to wheelchairs or to other
mobility aids used by disabled people.
Council minority leader James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) and
Councilman
Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) are not among the 21 Council members who
have
signed on as co-sponsors of McMahon's bill.
But yesterday the two Islanders said they would support the measure if
it
were changed to exempt Segways from its provisions.
Michael Scholl covers City Hall for the Advance. He may be reached at
scholl@siadvance.com.