"Alderman Krewson’s bill is extremely protectionist, and that’s not a good precedent to set in the city," said Sixth Ward Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett.

Unfortunately, I think the precedent for protectionism in the city is well established in the code, but that’s not Alderman Triplett’s fault. If this statement and the defeat of the Segway bill are an indication of the views of Alderman Triplett and other young members of the board, politics in the City of St. Louis may well have a very bright future.

The post Great Moments In Free-Market Theory at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The post The Aldermen Were Right – Segways are Scary appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The aldermen would probably be concerned, but I think the Segway riders are just having a good time. You can see that the pedestrian is unharmed.

And over at Urban Review St. Louis, there’s a discussion of the proposed license. In the comments people link to statistics about Segways’ impact on the environment. It turns out they’re much more fuel-efficient than lots of other vehicles people drive around.

The post Make Way for Segways appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

"Segways are something new in city parks," parks director Gary Bess says. "We want to go slow."

Actually, it’s more like they want you to go slow, as the fears of Alderman Lyda Krewson (who introduced the bill) so accurately describe:

"I happen to think they are really cool devices," said Krewson, whose
ward includes the park. "But if you were running along on the path, you
don’t want a bunch of them coming up behind you."

As someone training to run a very long way in April for no real reason, I think I can safely attest that the biggest danger on the paths of Forest Park isn’t a scooter that tops out at a whopping 12 mph. More importantly, why is the city trying to regulate the Pokey Little Scooter for safety concerns when I get buzzed at 25 mph by a guy on a Specialized every time I run past the Grand Basin?

The use of parks, sidewalks and roadways in the city of St. Louis should be encouraged as much as possible, if not for the sake of fitness, than at least for the overall boost that outdoor activity brings to societal welfare. Requiring a permit to ride a Segway in the park is the same as requiring a permit to ride a bicycle, roller blade, or jog: it’s an unnecessary step that will reduce usage and prevent citizens (particularly those with disabilities) from fully enjoying one of our state’s greatest treasures.

It’s ironic that a city with such a tradition of offering a park space "free and open to all" is trying to restrict who can do what on its paths.

The post Slow Down There, Turbo appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

The vice president of the Science Center claims this isn’t about creating a monopoly for them:

"If it was a sweetheart deal for the Science Center, it would say ‘Science Center,’ wouldn’t it?" Wharton asked.

Yet Krewson, sponsor of the measure, acknowledged she did have the Science Center in mind when she wrote it.

Well, what do you know — sometimes proposals are not named in a completely transparent way, as we should all know from the time the midwife debate suddenly turned into a dispute about "tocology."

This is not to say that city governments shouldn’t regulate Segways at all. I don’t think Segways are popular enough to warrant a crackdown yet, but if busy urban sidewalks were crowded with the scooters, that could pose a threat (or at least, an annoyance) to the pedestrians who would no longer be free to walk. But in Forest Park, there’s lots of open space and nobody is complaining about Segways. Furthermore, a license fee would be a burden to disabled Segway users, who can’t enjoy the park with traditional, unlicensed forms of transportation like bikes and roller skates.

But this proposal isn’t about embracing innovations to help the disabled. Governments just don’t like new things:

"Segways are something new in city parks," parks director Gary Bess says. "We want to go slow."

The post If It Moves, Tax It appeared first on Show-Me Institute.