[BATN] Campbell bans Segways on Los Gatos Creek Trail Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2006 22:34:12 -0000 X-Sender-Host-Name: n20a.bullet.scd.yahoo.com X-Skip-Spam-Check: yes - Ham Bypass - white-hard - Master From White List - F="10/5 SJ Mercury" T=news@energy-net.org X-Nohoney: yes white-hard - Master From White List - F="10/5 SJ Mercury" T=news@energy-net.org X-Spam-Class: HAM-VERY-WHITELIST Published Thursday, October 5, 2006, by the San Jose Mercury News City curbs use of people movers By Leslie Griffy Mercury News You won't see packs of Segways tooling along the Los Gatos Creek Trail in Campbell, the city council decided Tuesday. The council's unanimous decision means the Segway tours are banned from the city's portion of the trail. But where the popular path runs through San Jose and areas in the county, tours organized by a local Segway dealer can continue. "It's really business as usual for us," said Kent Pelz, owner of South Bay Segway, the company that puts on the tours. "Where we get on the trail, if you go left you are in Campbell and if you go right, you are in the county. We just won't go left." About six trail users denounced as unsafe the proposal to allow large tours of Segways on the Campbell trail, City Clerk Anne Bybee said. The proposal was presented by Pelz, who sells and rents Segways. "It is a safety issue," said Peggy Bidwell, 48, who regularly walks the Campbell trails and attended Tuesday night's meeting to campaign against the battery-operated people movers. "When you're out on the trails for four or five hours on a Saturday, you don't want some piece of equipment out there. There is not enough room. The trail was intended for kids and moms and dads and strollers, but not for a motorized people mover." In rejecting Pelz's plan, council members cited concerns about maintaining a compatible mix on the trail, which is already popular for runners, walkers, bicyclists and parents with strollers. Pelz said Wednesday that he agreed that the trail in Campbell, often called the par course, can be a particular tight squeeze for the tours. "Around the Campbell part of the trail, during busy times, it is wall to wall" with people taking advantage of the exercise stations along the path. Other areas, such as Los Gatos, won't be as much of a problem, Pelz said. The Los Gatos Town Council plans to take up the issue in November. The San Jose portion of the trail, from Leigh Avenue to Meridian Avenue, remains open to Pelz's tour groups. Under a deal struck with that city, Pelz can operate tours for a year before the policy will be reviewed. During the tours, Pelz or someone from his staff takes groups as large as eight, including guides, onto the trail for several hours at a time. He limits the tours to daylight hours and runs them Mondays through Saturdays. Santa Clara County controls the trail between Camden Avenue and Vasona Lake Park. County officials opted to allow Segway tours because, they say, the vehicle code classifies the personal transportation machines much like bicycles, which are allowed on multi-use trails. Individual Segways, those not traveling in organized tours, are allowed on the Los Gatos trail under state law. Mercury News Staff Writer Lisa Fernandez contributed to this report. Contact Leslie Griffy at lgriffy@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5945. [BATN: See also: Segway scooters kick up debate on bike/ped trailshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/32165 ] Email article texts/URLs for posting to . Manage your subscription by sending a blank email message to: BATN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe, BATN-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com to unsubscribe, BATN-digest@yahoogroups.com to switch email to digest mode, BATN-normal@yahoogroups.com to switch email to normal mode, BATN-nomail@yahoogroups.com to switch email delivery off. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN for web access & archives.