segways

segway enhanced parking cop, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

Segways trip me out. Do you remember the hype about "It" and "Gidget" and all the noise where they were going to have to redesign the sidewalks since everyone would want one? Well... so far, I haven't really seen it. Everyone looks like a tool on them, people wear helmets at walking speeds, and they don't actually go very far.

The first time I saw a parking meter attendant on one of these things, I actually thought it was a pretty cool idea. The parking meters were full of change, this thing could carry a load, and they could come up to the meter, empty the bucket into a semi-safe container, and zip to the next meter a little quicker than walking with one of those bag lady carts. That was in like... 2003 or something.

The other day I saw this ticket writing parking cop riding up the street. Since the meters are just sticker dispenser / credit card boxes, I wondered what the deal was. This guy is all dressed up in fancy safety gear, wearing a helmet, and trying really hard to look not-a-tool, but I don't really see the utility of getting a person who writes prints tickets to move at the speed of sound brisk walking pace that the segway provides. It's not like they don't write parking tickets around here because the wardens are too slow is it?

Anyway, I haven't seen it lately. The regular ticket writer around here walks.

update: I just spoke with one of the meter cops, and he told me they are currently training on them and we should expect to see more around in the coming months.