Tourists will not be allowed to roam even more streets of Prague on Segways. The council approved the expansion of the Segway-free zone on the east all the way up to Prague 10. The whole of Prague 2 will also be included. So far, Segways were not allowed in the historical centre and parts of the extended centre of Prague.
“Several city parts have turned to us to expand the ban to their parts as well. We have done so in Prague 2 and 10 because the initial ban did drive Segway drivers to their area, and the problem only moved a few streets down from the historical centre. We do not mean to bully anyone by this ban. On the contrary, we are trying to protect people where it has gone beyond the tolerable limit,” stated mayor Adriana Krnáčová (from the political party ANO).
According to the document, the Segway-free zone will surpass Prague 2 and move further east. That means it will include Prague 10. It is an area bordered by Prague 2, 3, and 4 and, in the east, by the line of streets U zdravotního ústavu, Benešovská, Ruská, Bělocerkevská, U Slavie, U Vršovického hřbitova a Bohdalecká.
Prague 2 officials welcomed the ban expansion. “I generally do not like blanket bans, but I appreciate the protection of pedestrians in our city part. Following the Segway ban in the historical centre, we have had an unbearable increase of Segways here, and the users were very reckless,” stated mayor Jana Černochová (from the political party ODS).
Other city halls have asked the city leadership for an expansion of the ban. “Prague 6 and 11 also asked us for a blanket ban, but we have come to the conclusion that there was no significant increase of Segways there, and therefore we decided not to expand the ban to those parts of Prague,” stated the Prague mayor.
The ban on Segways was approved by Prague last July, and Segways disappeared from the streets in December. Thanks to an amendment to the road traffic law, the ban was possible, which had viewed Segways as pedestrians before the amendment. The Czech Association of Segway Operators, consisting of about twenty operators, has filed a lawsuit against the ban. The association demanded the regulation to be withdrawn. According to the association, Prague did not enforce the initial rules, so it went ahead and created a blanket ban without proper reasoning (read more here). However, the senate of the Prague City Court stated that the Segway ban was created by a municipal regulation, and therefore is not subject to review by the Administrative Court. No lawsuit can be filed against it.
The disrespecting of the current regulation can result in a fine of up to two thousand crowns.