BikePGH Message Board Archive

How do you feel about eletric skateboards?

So I bike my bike to work ~3 of 5 days a week but when I'm feeling like having some fun I hop onto my electric board to scoot around and have some effort-free fun. I have noticed that recently more people in Pittsburgh's downtown area are picking up the hobby. Monday when riding around a bike rider in full bike suit shouted at me to "get off the trail" and looked decently upset. I'm curious what are everyone's thoughts on the rise of electric skateboards specifically, but also electric scooters, unicycles etc. My feeling is that bikers should in a way embrace the technology even if the don't want to use it as the more people using the trails/bike lanes/paths the more secure their funding and future is. But I'm curious..

humanisticnick

2019-05-09 13:31:34

For no particular, rational reason, I get annoyed at electric skateboards / scooters / hover-boards in the bike lanes. I'd like to say it's because half the time it's someone a decade younger than me, with no helmet, wearing noise cancelling headphones, and not particularly aware of his (almost always a guy) surroundings. But I'm probably making the same generalizations that I complain about when cranky drivers write op eds about scofflaw cyclists in the PG. As long as you're travelling roughly the same speed as cyclists, abiding by trail/lane etiquette, and not emitting any fumes I need to breathe, I've got no problem with your preferred mode of transport. Just stay off my lawn.

dberlin

2019-05-09 15:43:10

Given that I’ve seen an electric skateboard on McKnight Rd, I think I’d prefer they stick to trails. Video. Mute the sound, there’s a siren. The cop arrives at about 1:40 in, to take care of the dark traffic light, and comes close to hitting the guy on the board. No harm done, the board continues up onto the 50 mph part of McKnight.

stuinmccandless

2019-05-10 06:42:33