BICYCLES, SCOOTERS AND SEGWAY'S ON THE SKYWAY

We have an ongoing discussion in Jacksonville about allowing bicycles on our Skyway (monorail), even though thousands of riders have brought aboard wheelchairs, shopping carts and baby carriages. Yet bicycles, especially in the urban core, usually come with experienced commuter-riders, or student-riders. They are perhaps the least likely to go on some imagined rampage down an elevated track with 440 volts AC hanging off the side. What we haven't considered is a policy that includes bicycles, Segway's AND scooters of different variety's.

For those not familiar with the Jacksonville Skyway system, it is a Bombardier Monorail system of 2.5 miles and 8 stations. It crosses the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville, which is a major shipping channel. The monorail cars are small, with a capacity of about 20 persons each and only have seats on the ends. Otherwise the lightly used system, is wide open in the center for all manner of passengers or cargo, with just enough standee poles to make things safe. This blog sees no reason why we should not follow San Francisco's lead on this issue.

ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO – Bicycles are not the only two-wheelers jockeying for position on Caltrain cars.

For the last several months, the transit agency has been discussing whether to allow the increasingly popular Segway scooters onto trains, said spokeswoman Christine Dunn.
The initial idea is that only disabled people with permits would be allowed to bring the 100-pound devices aboard. The scooters would be hoisted onto train cars much like wheelchairs, which are propped on lifts manned by transit personnel, Dunn said.
The push to accommodate the battery-operated devices comes as Bay Area Segway dealers report a spike in sales. Jim Heldberg, owner of Pacifica-based Segway of San Francisco, estimates that 3,000 of the scooters are currently zipping around the Bay Area. Their popularity continues to grow as commuters hunt for alternatives to gas-guzzling cars, he said.
Caltrain officials also say the scooters will not cause train delays. The “dwell time” at stations — when trains stop before leaving — is enough to accommodate the Segways without delay, Dunn said.
“I think one of the issues we have is storage [of the Segways]. … Where are we going to put them?” she said. “The other would be safety. You don’t want them getting away from people on the platform or onboard trains.”
BART has dealt with similar issues. In June, a rider lost control of a Segway at the 24th Street station in San Francisco, sending the scooter into the path of an oncoming train. The scooter was struck, which halted service for more than half an hour, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.
The accident, which raised safety concerns, led to a 45-day ban of Segways on BART trains. During the ban, the agency’s board of directors developed a new policy that requires Segway riders to obtain a permit. Initially, up to 50 permits are being offered.
It’s not known how many permits would be offered to Caltrain’s Segway riders.
At issue is how the scooters would safely squeeze into train cars at a time when Caltrain is reporting record ridership. The transit agency is already struggling to make room for bicyclists that get stranded on platforms during peak commute hours.
“We are still developing our Segway policy,” Dunn said.
At this point, she said, what Caltrain directors have determined is that the Segway — which will be classified as “mobility devices” — will be required to meet standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The devices can be no greater than 30-by-48 inches, with a total weight, including the occupant, of no more than 600 pounds, Dunn said.
The Segway draft policy will be presented to the Caltrain board of directors Nov. 6. A similar policy will be presented to the SamTrans board the following week.

transit

BICYCLE SKYWAY FOR THE RIVERWALKS?

Photos of the Shweeb System test track, Imagine Berkman, Baptist, Hyatt, Landing, Cummer, Atena, Prudential, MOSH, Maritime Museum, Shipyards, Strand, Peninsular, Ruths Chris, Brewing Company, Marina, Friendship Fountain... IMAGINE - JACKSONVILLE - IMAGINE!

July 23, 2008 The Shweeb is a monorail for human-powered vehicles. It consists of two 200 metre long overhead rail circuits that vary in height between two and four meters above the ground. Under the tracks hang high performance pedal powered vehicles. Between one and five vehicles can be loaded onto each track enabling teams to race each other or race against the clock. Conceived in Tokyo by designer Geoffrey Barnett, the adventure park ride he built in New Zealand is partially a proof-of-concept for an ingenious, high efficiency, no emission urban transport system.

The Shweeb Race thru Space adventure park ride is part of the Agroventures all weather adventure centre within the grounds of the world famous Agrodome near Rotorua in New Zealand. Given the levels of adrenalin involved in that lot, the human-powered Shweeb surprisingly holds its own. As the bikes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle run on low-resistance tracks and the pods are far more aerodynamically efficient than a bicycle, with less frontal area (the rider is recumbent), most riders can see speeds of 45 kmh and on a longer circuit with a much longer straight, much higher speeds can be expected. Whatsmore, in corners, the pods swing out as much as 60 degrees on tight turns, but unlike a bike or motorcycle, there is no danger of losing traction and crashing. Those who have tried it report exceptional fun.

Recently, fully-faired recumbent bicycles have attained speeds of over 90kph (56mph) on pavement . However, recumbent bicycles are unstable, highly-susceptible to side-winds topple and their low profile makes them a dangerous prposition to use in traffic due to their low visibility.

Barnett has spent six years developing how to efficiently transfer pedal power to drive wheels enclosed within a monorail track while allowing the vehicle to swing freely underneath. The hard wheels on the steel rail mean that there is very little rolling resistance.

Barnett describes his high efficiency, no emission urban transport system thus: “Here’s How It Works . You get up in the morning; descend to the second level of your apartment building where there’s a Shweeb port and empty Shweebs waiting for you. You cruise over the top of the traffic jams. You don’t pay parking. You’ve produced no pollution. You arrive at work fit, healthy and ready to go.

“You don’t own the Shweeb. You use it like a shopping cart. Empty vehicles are restocked to wherever they are needed.

“Shock absorbers between the vehicles ensure that vehicle come together smoothly. When a fit rider comes up behind a slower rider, the impact is cushioned and they act as a single unit. The rider at the rear is sitting in the slipstream of the leading rider and is able to put all their power into pushing the lead vehicle. Two Shweebs acting together will always travel faster than either rider separately. Even if the lead rider were to stop pedalling, the energy required to maintain a vehicle’s momentum on a flat track is minimal.

“Stations are off line. Anyone wanted to get off just merges off the main rail and the platoon continues at top speed.

“The urban Shweebrail network is inexpensive, has a tiny footprint, and each Shweebway requires only a square metre of airspace…It’s safe, silent and sustainable.”

JTA? Want to blow away the competition? Want to be the envy of every system in the nation? Want green? Want attraction? Want community relations? Lets Move!