recreation and park department to operate a guided tour, and any deviation from the route changes must be approved in advance. we operate in the transportation task force and public realm committees for fisherman's wharf, and we belong to and the anticipate with numerous traffic, business -- travel, business, and civic organizations here we had three public hearings in front of the board. we have done months of public outrage and toys for numerous groups, individuals, and neighborhood associations. we have done 45 days of test, training without incident or complete. when we started the golden gate park office, part of our outreach was to walk sf, and we invited them on our fisherman's wharf and golden gate park tours. we also offered the segways for staff and board members to learn more about, and they declined

both invitations, saying it would not be appropriate. >> good morning, supervisors. thank you for the opportunity to speak in front of you. i live in san francisco's nob hill district, and i have been a guide for several years now. i'm just going to read parts of the letter that was provided to us on behalf of a local resident, and i will give this to you when i'm done. "dear supervisors, i'm writing in reference to a hearing scheduled march 14 in reference to a contract the city has entered with the electric tour company. my understanding is certain groups are opposing these out of a concern for safety for other uses where they are proposed to operate. it is my belief based on my experience as a segway owner and operator that these complaints

are groundless and should not prevent them from proceeding with this contract did tour services. i'm a resident of district 7 and an employee of salesforce.com i am an owner of model i2. i have operated it nearly 1,500 miles, many of which have been navigated in san francisco. opponents to the operation include a group that supported san francisco ordinance 241-02, which banned operations of epa md's on public transit. walk sf is one such group, and their web page includes a list of arguments that were largely speeches including speculative

and groundless claims, which have been proven false over the years on the use in other cities in california and the united states. these assertions should not be used in any assertion a committee may make with respect to the operation of electric" -- [bell rings] thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i am -- i live in the haight- ashburty district. i am an electric bike tour guide. i have firsthand knowledge of bicycles and pedestrians and segways and bike lanes of san francisco, and i use the golden gate park, myself, quite a lot. navigating segways and bicycles

and pedestrians is not only doable, but it is an everyday occurrence. it is easy and fun to do. thank you. >> good morning. i'm one of the tour guides -- i am a senior tour guide. i have been doing to was for over 500 years, both in san francisco, fisherman's wharf area, and in sausalito. probably got in sausalito, we do a lot of the group areas -- multi-use areas, sidewalks, boardwalks. that sort of thing. it is very fun and safe. the people in blue behind me, first and foremost, we are instructors, and then tour guides after that. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors.

my name is maria o'donnell. i am a segway tour guide with the electric for company. this is what we use so people can hear our instructions on the tour. it is a radio. we have individual earbuds which we have new for each customer, which they are welcome to keep after. throughout the entire store, we are talking to them, giving them instructions, i am telling them about safety things, alerting them to pedestrians, cars, pot holes, bumps. i am always in constant contact with them. just so we are visible, we also where our jackets. you can really see. there is no way to miss us. the most thing is safety. i always make sure that everyone knows what they are doing. before we go on the tour, the

training is so thorough, if i ever feel someone does not understand or if there is a problem, or will not be safe on the tour, we ask that they do not go on the door and we give them a refund. the main thing that we stress, besides safety and informing, is safety. supervisor mar: i think you were my trainer. >> i was. i hope i trained you well. my name is tracy roberts, a resident of the haight-ashbury district. i often visit the park, not only for taurus, but walking through with my dog, and experiencing as a pedestrian. i have experienced firsthand, working with a lot of people with disabilities. like mary said, if they do not

passed training, if they are not comfortable, they are happy not to do so. we are happy to invite everyone with disabilities if they're able to before the scheduled tour to try it out to see if they are comfortable with it. four instances really stand out to me in my experience as a tour guide. one woman had polio, another with ms, two men -- one elderly man i took out 88 years old. another man who had one leg. all four of them were not able to walk on their own, but were able to stand up on their own they needed help on and off, but when they were there, they describe the time of their life, they had not felt that confident in years. i felt honored to share that experience with them. i really feel great that we can

offer and provide tours to tourists and locals alike who suffer from disabilities and are not able to enjoy the park on foot or bike. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. i am going to start calling other names. charles allen quist. daniel himer. jim helperg. stephen steindery. one other part, catherine howard, golden gate preservation alliance. >> good morning, my name is pam. i am the operations manager of the city segways. i am pleased to to stand in support of the san francisco electric car company and their safe operating practices.

we also employed a lot of the same practices that the sf electric or company has. i can tell you, this operate safely in other cities as well and parks. we are in the olympic park in atlanta, grant park in chicago. we are also gton, d.c., where we operate on the national mall. we employ many of the same safety practices, operating at a lower speed, when encountering pedestrians, and in parks in other cities. here, we are only at the fisherman wharf, so we are not moving through parks. but we also encounter people at the walkways every day. since 2008, we have had taken

out over 9000 people. also, we have an excellent safety record. i really think these guys are doing an excellent job. they had set a high standard for safety and we are pleased to stand with them in solidarity today. thank you. >> thank you, supervisors. jeff sears, blazing saddles. i have run a company similar to the electric power co. and have witnessed since their first day of operation, it was obvious they had been highly trained in safety and controlling the etiquette in which there groups operated. i have personally observed, as a pedestrian and psychologist, that electric tore company has consistently kept the same high standards i always giving the right away to pedestrians and cyclists. it is clear their guides

understand it is critical to operate in this manner for the company to continue to operate. there was an earlier speaker that was mistaken when he said segways did not operate on pads for pedestrians and cyclists. we share those same paths and there had never been a problem because the segways travel single file and are courteous. please let them continue to use the paths they arkin -- currently using, as they have proven their dedication to safety. thank you. supervisor mar: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. thank you for your thoughtful consideration on matters before you today. my name is todd barbie, i was raised in san francisco. i spent 45 years in join the wonder of golden gate park. i am a development and marketing

consultant and i co-authored the electric car company's proposal in response to the rfp from the rec and parks department. the agency responsible for administering the park and the safety of the guests you visit -- who visit has been working on this innovative fund to bring a green and low impact immunity to the park. the goals and objectives, as outlined in the rfp, are to safely make -- and hence the user experience, amenities, and provide jobs for city coffers. rec and parks did exceptional due diligence on this matter, studying in the context of golden gate park operations, and then commissioning others to operate the said wait for trial for over a year. and then conducting a rigorous rfp and public hearing process. a host of professionals,

agencies, and city staffers were involved in the process, as well as the city attorney's office. i can assure you the issue of public safety has always been a primary consideration for all parties involved. in the months since the elector for company was selected, and contract signed, there has not been some new discovery about the inherent dangers of writing a segway that should be a cause for any special hearing on the matter. any discussion of segway safety must be based on the actual safety record of the device, not unsubstantiated allegations of a special interest group that has a clear bias toward any means of locomotion other than foot traffic. this 11th hour effort to, in effect, expand a 2002 ordinance banning segways on sidewalks to include the palace of golden gate park is based on a policy. supervisor mar: thank you.

-- fallacy. >> good morning, supervisors. daniel oppenheimer. thank you for hearing my testimony. i want to speak specifically to one aspect of safety that has to do with differential speed between pedestrians and segways. in the same way that that is a concern for one of the proponents of this venture, i want to say, we operate trucks that move a different speeds. part of our responsibility is to understand the difference in speeds and make appropriate accommodations thereof. we have been on the same streets with the electric for company for six years now. i can assure the committee with my own reputation that there is no concern about his safety or the operation of his company.

thank you. >> thank you, supervisors. charlesmont quist. along with daniel and here, other tour operators, we do see the segway towards all over fisherman's wharf and north beach, now in golden gate park. especially with their safety record, as well as a personal user of golden gate park, i feel they are very safe. i have never had a problem with them interfering with my walking around golden gate or operating a business at fisherman's wharf. supervisor mar: how long have you been in business? >> we started about six months after the electric tour company. july 2005. supervisor mar: thank you.

>> thank you. i am with silicon segway. we are the folks that started the tours in golden gate park. it was our idea, the routes were ours, and we obtained a six- month permit to operate the stores. after completing six successful months, we went another six months to operate. we had a great time. when it came time to renew the permit, it was opened up to everyone and we did not win the permit to continue. i am not sure why it was. i suspect for local reasons. i am here today to support your approval of the san francisco electric tour company's use of golden gate park. they are highly qualified, as you can tell from what you have heard today. i am sure they will do an

outstanding job for you. it seems strange to be dating segway use at all. here we are in san francisco, where the police officers are, at this moment, at the largest airport, conducting safety and security operations on board segways. it works there just fine. in san jose, they use them as well. around the world, segways are used for various purposes. tours are just a small part of that. supervisor mar: could i just say -- this is in an historic park with many sensitive areas, wildlife, plants, so it might be different from the airport. >> i am quite aware of the value of the park. that is why we put segway tours

in the park. we appreciate the chance to be there. golden gate park is entirely too big to be seen by foot. you cannot walk the whole park. you cannot drive the whole park. there are not trams to take you around. the best way to see golden gate park is by segways. i believe you should not only approve the san francisco electric tour company's tours, i believe you should rent them to everyone who wants to go. you selected a vendor to produce this result. i would urge you to leave them alone and let them do their job. thank you. >> good morning. warrick farmer. national sales manager for open top san francisco. i would like to speak to you in

regards to two points. one as a tourist and one as an operator. i have lived in many cities around the world and i have taken in many segway tours. it is a fabulous way to see the scope of golden gate park. it is quiet, efficient, and safe. but it has been said at nauseam here today. as a tour operator in fisherman's wharf, in union square, and also golden gate park, we deliver thousands of people, especially to golden gate, who want to explore. we feel is a good partnership. we have never had a problem with them on the streets in fisherman's wharf, and we feel it would be a great opportunity for the city. >> good morning.

my name is steven steinberg, owner and operator of segway oakland. i participated in a pilot program to bring segways to the state. i also ran experiments out on angel day. we have a multi-use trails with bikers, joggers, and we share the roads with the tram system out there. we were under close supervision from the rangers department, which is also on the island. they were watching us on a daily basis to make sure we could interact with people. daily, when people were leaving, the rangers would question them as they believe in, what did they think about us being out there? when we originally started, there were quite a few news articles and complaints in the community that we were going to cause a lot of noise and hurt

people. the park system saw that after one year, that did not happen. not only did it not happen, we were one of the safest operations in the country. and we generated $300,000 in additional income in five months that the parks collected 50% of. within a year, the parks decided to run the operation themselves, and have now bought rental fleets to put into three of their park systems. use on the trails show that we did not do any more destruction than bikers and hikers. we were the only people on the island that were actually guided and govern any type of speed. hikers and joggers could go as fast as they wanted, bikers to do with a wanted. people on our tours travel an average of 4.5 miles per hour around angels island.

if anyone was riding on safe, they were warned. if they continued, they were taken off the tour. supervisor mar: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. catherine howard. golden gate preservation alliance. i want to clear up an implication in the early testimony by rec and parks. we do not support segways in golden gate park. 2 rec and park, i want to say, please stop doing this sort of thing. there are problems with segways in golden gate park. our main complaint has been with the music concourse. segways would join food trucks and future bicycle rental of vendors. you probably do not know about that. segways and bicycles will use the area behind a band shell for training and practice. this means that banks and

segways will be visible behind performances. this will be distracting. in addition, with all of this going on, there will be a danger in the backstage area. there are performances, there are many children that come to the city. there is the danger of a child being injured by a bike or segway out on a practice run. these are practice runs and there are concerned with people tumbling down the steps. the golden gate park master plan recommends this area be designed as an attractive, high-quality area to match the dignity of the concourse. this current, haphazard increased commercialization of the error does not meet that standard. the master plan was written by the rec and parks art and as recently as 1998. it is being used as a document to use the hank recycling center from the park, but when it comes to other things that the

organization wants to do, they ignore it. the exploitation of the band shell for these commercial ventures is a short-sighted. it does not measure up to the millions of dollars the city has already spent in renovating the music concourse, ban the shelf, and most recently, the historic fountain. our request of new designs have been ignored. we think this is a terrible location. this is just one of our concerns. supervisor mar: thank you. emily wilcox. if there is anybody else, please line up. >> my name is emily wilcox, and i am a resident of berkeley, formerly of san francisco. i use my battery powered segway as it and assistive mobility device, as a pedestrian. it provides functionality,

similar to my battery-powered wheelchair. i am not affiliated with any tour provider or segued dealer. i am here today to support the tour company's request. it is reasonable. it is a way for persons with disabilities who are able to safely use a segway as and assistive mobility device, to try the device. and number three, it is time to stop the exaggerated and hostile environment created -- and some seem to brag about it -- developed before even segways were available to the public. i got mine in 2004. i had to go through an unpleasant process of getting modification to policy for san francisco's segway restrictions. i could have ridden into this

hearing because i am allowed to use it as i would use my wheelchair. i would suggest to members of this committee and board of supervisors, look at emeryville's municipal codes on segways. it allows for -- it requires safe use of sidewise by members of the public. police can decide and enforce. but it also has something very important to me. any person with a disability, as that term is defined, shall not be subject to the restrictions on the use -- blah, blah, blah. something like that would reduce the harassment. i was a salted once and verbally assaulted many times. supervisor mar: so you are a

berkeley resident, and you say that you have been harassed because of your side would use? >> i even have a plastic placard with a wheelchair symbol on the front, and i am still subject to harassment. you should be walking. you are over privileged. get down on that thing and walk. obviously, i can walk, but it is painful. and my distance is limited. since 2004, i have not injured anyone or any property. my primary use is to get to the dental building at the top of powell street, which i cannot do under my own steam. supervisor mar: thank you. any public speakers, please come forward. >> i am a resident of san

francisco, i go to golden gate a lot. i am involved in park issues. i want to tell you, i have edited 3 guides for windchills users to the california coast. one of the primary changes was to allow wheelchair access to areas around the coast. one thing we have learned -- by the way, this was all written by people who use wheelchairs. they were all really knowledgeable about wheelchairs'. not every place can be wheelchair it accessible that is public. i am not here to oppose segways in golden gate park. but there are some places, particularly in reserved lands, it has to be quiet places where

there is just walking. i do not think there are that many in golden gate park. i would plead for you to make sure, where the subway tors cove, where bicycles all sway -- segway tours go, where bicycles also can go. supervisor mar: thank you. mr. salinas? >> good morning, members of the committee. thank you for allowing us to speak. i just wanted to say, i was so impressed with the fact of this business hiring san franciscans. it is something that i have been aspiring to. it is nice to see that. pars has raised a valid issue