Boston by Segway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to deal with increasing fines from the City of Boston. The company has repeatedly run afoul of a 2011 ordinance regulating Segway tours. Total fines owed have reached nearly $200,000. The bankruptcy filing shows over $300,000 in total debt on the business.
In June 2013, a Superior Court judge denied Boston by Segway’s attempt to void a 2011 City of Boston ordinance that regulates Segway tours in the city. The ordinance was championed by District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina in response to complaints about the safety issues related to Segways tours on sidewalks and some crowded or narrow streets.
In March 2013, the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals also denied a request to add Segway tours as an approved use at the former Mobil gas station property. Both NEWNC and NEWRA advised against the zoning modification. The city has set a year-end deadline for the company to vacate its current location at 420 Commercial Street.
Hate to wish bad things on any business but that guy is not a nice person. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost been run over in a crosswalk by one of their tours and when I yell at the tour guide, I get a profanity laced response…right in front of their customers.
Good riddance.
Apparently you weren’t taught I look both ways
Au contraire…looking both ways is futile when 15 Segways come barreling down Commercial Street oblivious to pedestrians in a cross walk.
My advice is for Salem St Kid to get a library card.
Does anyone know how long they had been there?
Maybe a 7-11 will move into that space.
Purely from a business standpoint, this is a great move. The owner must have been generating an operating profit to continue the business up until the deadline. He can then pay himself a huge paycheck that is protected from the Chapter 11 filing since his paycheck is his personal funds and not the corporation’s. While I’m not sure if the city had any alternative besides fining the business, they won’t see a dime of that $200K fine.
I’d also like to say that I hate the segways in our neighborhood and would love to see that ugly patch of land redeveloped into something more useful.
I have an idea…how about a gas station???
Or, dare I say it?…….a 7/11!!!
how about a dunkin doughnuts w/drive thru?
Hi everyone,
I’m a journalist for the Boston University News Service, and my assignment is to cover stories in the North End. Would any of you be interested in talking to me about this story? It would be greatly appreciated. My email is cweez19@yahoo.com.
Thank you!
I’m not that familiar with the details other than what I have read here over the past couple of years, but you can get a good overview by looking at past articles: http://northendwaterfront.com/tag/segways/
If the Segway was operating in a garage that was not zoned for Segway usage; why did it take so long for it to be cited for the violation and why was it not closed immediately after it opened?
I am curious if the Urban Adventure Bike Tours has the proper zoning. They have their bicycles on both Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street sidewalks. They have in the past brought their clients into Christopher Columbus Park and clustered around the Columbus statue for orientation that blocks access to sections of the park. Sometimes they have large numbers of clients going along our streets and are a hazard as they do not stop for the crosswalks or stop signs. My understanding they should be subject to all the rules of the road.
James apparently your unaware of how some deals & licenses are approved in the city of Boston & that’s all I am going to say on the issue.