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FRIENDS OF THE NORTH END LIBRARY FUND RAISER!

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE
DON'T MISS OUT!!

Please join us at the first annual Friends of the NE Library Fund
Raiser.  To be held on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at the Battery
Fairmont Hotel from 7-9 pm.

Tickets:   $40 each - cash bar.  Advance sale only through Friday,
February 12, 2010.  Tickets are available at the library or by
contacting Jane Connolly - janeandjimconnolly@comcast.net  or Lisa LeBlanc - leblanc.lisa@gmail.com.  They may also be purchased from one of the following:
    Robin Ardito, Christine Bergstrom, Peter Greene, Paula Luccio,
Donna Wells, Phyllis Vitti, Lauren Wolf or Pam Knight

We appreciate the support from our friends and neighbors!  With all
the budget cuts across the City this year, our North End Library needs our help.

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Citi Performing Arts Center City Spotlights Neighborhood Ensembles (4 Boston neighborhoods, including North End)

Are you between the ages of 11 and adult? Want to work with the largest theatre in Boston to help shine a spotlight on your community? Interested in having fun and performing on the Shubert Theatre stage? Citi Performing Arts Center is now accepting registration forms for spring City Spotlights Neighborhood Ensembles taking place Wednesday and Thursday evenings from March 22 - May 15, 2010.

Neighborhood Ensembles will rehearse and create an original theatre piece in Beacon Hill & Back Bay, Fenway, North End and Mission Hill/Roxbury. You do not need to reside in one of these communities to join and all levels of experience are welcome. Please contact Anthony Victoria at avictoria@citicenter.org to register.

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Saturday
19Sep2009

Segway Hearing Requested by Councilor LaMattina

City Councilor Sal LaMattina is calling for a hearing to discuss how the City should accommodate increasing Segway use on city streets and sidewalks. Segways are the 2-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicles uses for personal transportation. These upright mobility devices can reach speeds up to 13 miles per hour.

Some interesting notes from the hearing request:

Segways were initially used by police but have now grown into the business and general population market for daily use.

Boston Segway Tours offers these highlights for $85/person
(Click image for more information)
Private tour companies have become increasingly more reliant on Segway guided tours through the City, disrupting parts of the North End and Beacon Hill neighborhoods, with respect to pedestrian traffic.

Other citys have Segway restrictions on sidewalks and footpaths. 42 states have some sort of legislation regulating Segways. Some states also have a minimum age requirement.

Massachusetts has been unable to enact legislation so LaMattina is asking the City of Boston to take the lead to protect the safety of pedestrians, motorists and Segway users.

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Reader Comments (3)

Number one issue is the tourist use of sidewalks as a running pad. These vehicles need to yield to others pedestrians in all cases. Many users get caught p in the sheer joy of the ride, thinking people are going to get out of the way. Not all tourists are very good at navigating City streets as it is. I find these vehicles a nuissance.
September 19, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterBrian Brandt
Segways are no different than any other item you will find in daily life, other than they are technologically superior to most conveyances of today... In the future, they will be common place, or something like them will be.

Just like joggers, or bicycles, or any other thing that involves human decision, some will use them with courtesy, and others will be discourteous. Segways are just the tool of the person using it...

Like many things, a law that defines how they should be used is perfectly reasonable. Most every other state in the United States, and many countries around the world, have simple and reasonable rules about how they should fit into society, like that they should yield to folks on foot, they should follow the other pedestrian rules...

I believe that they should be encouraged, as each person on a segway, is a person who is not in a car... More traffic in the North End is hardly a solution to much any problem...

Kept in perspective, a segway is a tool. Like all tools, if used well with care, good things happen. If used poorly without care, bad things happen. Publish rules for how people should use this tool, but do not start to blame the segway, it is simply a thing... If you don't like something that a person on a segway did, blame the person, in the same way that if a person in a car does something you don't like, you blame the driver, not the car...
September 19, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterKarl Sagal
They are a vehicle somewhere between a bicycle and a car and should therefore should be kept off the sidewalks. It's dangerous to have them on the sidewalks, especially when driven by people who are unfamiliar with both the vehicle and the neighborhood. I think they are an interesting tourism idea, just keep them on the street where they belong.
September 28, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterMarie
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