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Leader scoffs at sign before leading Segwayers up elevated pathway

MIAMI BEACH MAY BAN INFERNAL MACHINES FROM SIDEWALKS
Commissioner Michael Grieco gallops to the rescue
Mothers Day 2014
By David Arthur Walters
Miami Mirror
I was included in a public record email discussion of legislation sponsored by Commissioner
Michael Grieco that would immediately ban the operation of motorized vehicles such as so-
called Trikes and Segways from certain sidewalks. His bill is to have a second reading on 21 May
2014.
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Segways were denominated as instruments of the Devil by more than one resident. The
discussion included several reports of pedestrians injured by Segways zipping around on
sidewalks, or the drivers themselves being injured; including James W. Heselden, who bought
the company and hurtled thirty-feet into the River Wharfe to his death in 2010.

Hey, look, theres a hill! Franks Folly looms under crane in background
The discussion was polite and the email few in number. A lawyer with Ohios leading medical
malpractice and personal injury law firm repeatedly asked to be excluded from the email
roundtable, perhaps to overcome a temptation to barratry. But the barratry in South Beach is
that of officials under the old definition. A self-appointed moderator ordered the discussion
halted sometime after providing his opinions, but it continued privately without him.
It was suggested that a more comprehensive bill would be required that would, for example,
reduce the current speed limit, raise fines, require insurance, enable enforcement, and ban
bicycles from the sidewalks as well. However, others insisted that the bill be supported and
passed as it is although it was not perfect in its details, for revision delays would provide an
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opportunity for opposition to be organized, and for more people would get hurt. It was
mentioned that Segway interests had excellent lobbyists in the state capitol.
Commissioner Grieco commented, after deleting the names of other commissioners from the
list so as not to violate the Sunshine Law. He agreed that the bill as proposed should be moved
forward, noting that the city has to take small steps dealing with preemptive state legislation.
He said he would look into further legislation after the bill is passed, including the placement of
requiring visible registration numbers on the vehicles for tracking and enforcement.



I inquired into whether City Manager Jimmy Morales had made a recommendation.
Commissioner Grieco had stated in a Miami Herald article that he and other commissioners
followed the city managers recommendations blindly, so a positive recommendation from
him would surely get the bill passed if that were true. I also suggested that statistics on
incidents should be compiled along with the anecdotes on accidents so that legislation could
have factual support. I facetiously recommended that the wheel be abolished from city streets
excepting delivery and emergency vehicles and wheelchairs, subject to certain speed limits.
Commissioner Grieco asked that he be quoted accurately, noting that he had said that he and
most if not all of his colleagues trust the new city manager almost blindly. Wherefore we can
almost hope that the city, whose city manager is not elected but is the commissions executive,
will not be run as a virtual dictatorship. Alas that the city charter provides for an almost un-
American constitution inasmuch as it provides for a parliamentary executive. In any event, it
would certainly be meet for the vested interests to have the almost omnipotent Supermanager
behind any desired legislation.
I further observed that the problem posed by Trikes and Segways is getting worse every day,
but has not exceeded that posed by the operation of bicycles on sidewalks, especially since the
city partnered with a bicycle rental firm that places its stands all around South Beach. I offered
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an ordinance from a civilized city, Honolulu, which prohibited bicycles from business
districts. I had lived in several of those districts over the years, including Waikiki, and I do not
recall any serious issue with bicyclists during that time. However, it should be noted that Hawaii
is a relatively well-manner, conservative state even though Steve Forbes called it a socialist
state because of its labor lawsMr. Forbes may one day comment on the post-Hitler German
constitution, which is similar to that of the United States, the difference being that it provides
for the dignity of the individual, in contrast to the freedom of the American individual to be
starved to death.
Commissioner Grieco responded that a bicycle ordinance is presently being discussed in
committee.

A bicycling enthusiast from Boston said that the city should not offer bikes for rent everywhere
and then not have places where the bikes can be ridden without fear of injury and/or death. I
love to ride a bike but it is so unsafe on the roads that I have almost given up doing so for fear
that my demise will come earlier than expected. She said she had spent much time in Holland,
where she enjoyed the paradise of riding safely in large cities as well as along the canals and
windmills of the countryside. She asked me to mention to the commission that, having bike
lanes is not a revolutionary idea, and people cant complain about car traffic, global climate
change, etc, and then make riding a bike something only for people with terminal illnesses who
know they are going to die soon, anyway.
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I said my sympathy was with her, but the principle, which in fact is expressed in our traffic laws,
is that pedestrians have priority. Another resident, who was not quite as sympathetic as I,
responded with, The safety of pedestrians should be the first and foremost consideration in
any discussion.
Several participants expressed concern over whether any ordinance at all would actually be
enforced.

Segwayers mount hill after their leader reads Pedestrians Only sign
The non-enforcement, lax enforcement, and selective enforcement of laws of all sorts by City of
Miami Beach officials is a plague on the community. Time and time again I have demonstrated
that city officials, who after all have the communitys police power, are blind to violations
unless someone is willing to subject themselves to retaliation and file and diligently follow up
on a complaint. Miami Beach officials enjoy sovereign immunity for misprision, cloaking
themselves with the power of discretion, excusing themselves with the notion that the laws are
made not to punish but to obtain compliance, forgetting human nature, that absent
punishment there shall be no compliance.
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For example, I noticed that a Motor Unit police officer had parked his motorcycle in a No
Parking At Any Time zone in front of a favored coffee shop. Tow trucks, Parking Enforcement
and Code Compliance vehicles, and others were parked and double-parked at the yellow curbs
on all four corners, some of them for an hour at a time. Meanwhile, law-abiding people were
feeding the meters nearby, and those who did not were getting ticketed. The officer explained
that he was a liberal when it comes to getting coffee, so does not cite people who park for a
few moments there to get coffee. From there Parking Enforcement and Tow Trucks went three
blocks into South Pointe and proceeded to tow cars.

Father watches child disobey the rule
Go ahead, put up signs prohibiting something, be sure that the sign declares that the ordinance
will be strictly enforced, but do not enforce it, and the sign will be ignored, just as the leash
laws are ignored by many dog lovers, in South Pointe Park, who leave their dogs waste around
the warning signs.
Or take the Pedestrians Only signs at the entrances to the elevated sidewalk in South Pointe
Park. They are even read by Segway drivers, bicyclists, skateboarders, etc, before the rule is
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violated. I can tell you that, on Sundays, at least, the city is wasting money on private security in
the park. I estimate that at least half the money expended on code compliance is wasted.

We may be wasting our breath and money on this legislation. Perhaps it would be better to
legalize marijuana and let people run wild, and mourn people who are run over. After all, this is
South Beach. Lets not mess with the brand.
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