If a City of Villages is to emerge in San Diego emphasizing vertical over horizontal development, redevelopment over new development, mixed use over single use and proximity over distance, the transportation realm is where innovative solutions must emerge. It is time to move “out of the box” and away from a single-minded pursuit of the new highway or, alternatively, mass transit systems.

Why? Because those are not solutions to the real problem.

The San Diego Association of Governments’ transportation models show 7.5 million daily home-based trips, of which 59 percent are less than five miles. During the 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. peak period, Sandag counts 3.1 million home-based trips of which 51 percent are less than five miles.

If more than half our trips are less than five miles, why are we using the automobile to make them?

Notice how congestion nearly vanishes during a minor federal holiday, when government and banks are closed, but many others still work? Based on a small sample of freeway locations, Sandag reports that on those holidays, morning peak hour traffic is about 40 to 50 percent of normal.

Don’t misunderstand. I am fond of my automobile. Putting the top down and whisking around San Diego on a warm spring day is one of life’s pleasures. The operative word is whisking, meaning actually moving. During the commute hours, few are whisking. Most are crawling and stressing. Sandag says the average travel speed is 26.2 mph in the evening peak period and 28.6 in the morning.

Sandag’s Regional Transportation Plan projects transportation needs through the year 2030. Congestion is only going to increase as the population grows. In response, the RTP suggests a number of alternatives.

Key here is that we do not have to take many autos off the freeways to make commutes better for everyone. Alternative starting times are a good start. So is combining better use of the little mass transit we have, such as the trolley, coaster and buses, with alternative short-commute solutions. Ultimately transit must be coupled with better planned communities that offer improved relationships between where people live and work.

A Better Short-Range Commute Solution

Clearly, solving San Diego’s transportation problems lies in workable alternatives for short range commutes.

The bicycle, unfortunately, is not the answer. If it were, it would have taken off in 1875. We do owe a debt of sorts to the bike. Bicycle parts such as wheels, sprockets and chains contributed to the first autos. I am passionate about my bicycle, which gets ridden on the road often during the week. But it is for exercise, not transportation. To ride it one must wear bicycle clothes, not business attire. For most workers, therefore, it is not practical. It also is a risk for the rider to avoid the auto.

A better alternative to short-range commutes for me is my new Segway HT (for Human Transporter). I use it on the sidewalk to get to meetings. When the sidewalk is clear, I can take it up to 12.5 mph. Most of the time I travel at a more leisurely pace, about double the speed of walking, or 6 mph. It is safe, reliable and incredibly efficient. It requires no balance or coordination. The battery recharges on the household current, and it usually does not require a parking space because I take it right into office buildings.

I realize I am an unusual user. The most appropriate use for this device is for short-range commutes within our neighborhoods. For example, UTC holds 3 million square feet of office space and more than 18,000 households. Many of these residents work, go to school or shop in the community. In Carmel Valley, you’ll find 3.5 million square feet of office space just a few miles from 12,000 households.

Shaping Our City

The way we get around our city ultimately will reshape it. In the pre-industrial age, town size and shape were dictated principally by the horse and buggy. As rail systems were introduced, the size of the city expanded through longer commutes to downtown via mass transit. The automobile created a new shape for metropolitan areas, particularly in the post-World War II era as highways were built to accommodate the auto, tying in the original suburbs with the center cities.

That scenario still defines most metropolitan areas that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century. Examples are Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston and, certainly, San Diego. But as the philosophy of growth is changing and communities look inward to accommodate our growth, it is imperative to seek transportation alternatives.

Public Policy

The state of California legalized the use of Segways effective March 1, 2003. Legally, they are essentially “pedestrians” and are fully allowed on sidewalks. However, cities can override the state legislation. Curiously, San Francisco did, despite the fact that it is a pedestrian-oriented city, with huge barriers to the auto, as well as a pedestrian challenge due to its hilly terrain.

A genuine opportunity exists to entwine the Segway into the entitlement process. It costs more than $20,000 to provide a structured parking space for an auto. The Segway costs $4,950. Instead of requiring parking for two cars, why not require developers to provide parking for one car per unit and a Segway? A similar concept is advocated in Sandag’s excellent handbook, “Planning and Designing for Pedestrians, Model Guidelines for the San Diego Region.”

The model guideline advocates the maintenance of a “safe alliance” between pedestrians and bicyclists in the planning and development of pathways. The same can be said of the pedestrian and the Segway. The need is obvious, and the opportunity to reduce auto dependency is real. Planning and infrastructure development must accommodate this type of an alternative.

The most prescient transportation analyst in town, Alan Hoffman, told me “in the world of transportation, small improvements in a few critical variables can make for big differences in system performance. I can offer that modest improvements in walking distance lead to major increases in area coverage. Let’s say that ‘most people’ would be willing to walk five minutes from their home, about 1/4 mile. For every 1/4 mile increment in walking distance, there’s a major increase in area covered.” Hoffman calculates that “if the Segway brings areas within 1.5 miles within reach, then it will essentially mean that it will increase the area that a person could reach by 35 times compared to a 1/4 mile walk. And the would leave the car at home.”

It is unlikely that a flood of Segways will be on San Diego sidewalks in the foreseeable future. In the United States, it took roughly 20 years, between 1910 and 1930, for the auto market penetration rate to grow from zero to one car per household. The Segway will take a while to catch on. But it is important that it be given the opportunity.

Gary H. London is president of The London Group Realty Advisors Inc., providing real estate consulting and economic analysis. Check him out on the Web at www.londongroup.com.