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Originally Posted by Hitch
Well, my days of urban living are over (one hopes), so there's really no Segway in my future, that's for sure. But if I lived in an urban environment, some miles from my office--I could see it on nice days, if walking was out of the question. I DO think that walking to work is grossly overlooked in this country.
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For some years, I did just that. The office I worked from was about 10 minutes walk from where I lived. This had a downside - the night shift figured that since I lived so close, there was no problem with calling me after hours if they had a problem. I quickly drilled a mantra into them that they should check that something was turned on, plugged in, and plugged into the right place before calling me.
Then they closed that office and I did the reverse commute, from NYC to corporate HQ in the suburbs.
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Other than my days in NYC, back when we took DinoTrans to the job, I've never had the luxury--to me--of taking mass trans. Trains or buses. I have always had to have a car handy, to go out to meetings and all that. I cannot IMAGINE what it's like for folks who HAVE TO take public trans here, where there's not very much of it, it stops running before it gets very late at night, and it's 115F outside when you have to sit at the bus stations and all that.
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I'm spoiled. I grew up in Philadelphia and live in NYC now. Both cities have comprehensive 24/7 mass transit. I've had conversations with folks like tech recruiters where I say "Where is the client? I live in Manhattan, and the only people there who own and drive cars there are either paid to do it or are nuts. I am neither. If your client cannot be reached by pubtrans, I am not a candidate for a position."
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For recreation, again, in locales with cement/asphalt, they look fun. I'd like to try them. I really liked rollerblades, for a while (until my ankles/knees bitched about them). I can see using them around town, depending on the town, traffic and all that.
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I've seen people using them on the street as a faster means of getting around than walking. Next step up is a bicycle, and there is an effort called CitiBike that installed bike stands in a lot of place with bikes that you can short term rent.
I wouldn't want to try to use a scooter on some major throughways in NYC, but in most places it's possible. I got a laugh a while back when the city reduced the speed limit from 35mph to 25mph after an accident. If it isn't 3am, good luck on going as fast as 25mph in Manhattan, let alone 35mph.
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Dennis