Curtis Linhart has been waiting for months to share his idea with city leaders for a new downtown business, and he thinks he’ll finally get his chance at Monday’s Des Moines City Council meeting.

Linhart and his wife, Laurie, are proposing a business that would offer tours of downtown using Segways, two-wheeled personal transportation devices. This past spring, the Linharts became licensed dealers for the vehicles, and they had hoped to launch their business, Segway of Central Iowa, this fall next to Java Joe’s Coffeehouse on Fourth Street. But because Linhart’s idea was not received with the enthusiasm he had hoped for, plans were delayed.

Linhart said the Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department responded to his idea with skepticism about the safety of having the vehicles on the same trails with hikers and cyclists, and various city leaders have not returned his calls.

“I don’t understand the opposition,” he said. “We can program the Segways not to run above 6 or 8 miles per hour, and we would only let people operate them on guided tours. The Segways don’t run as fast as most Rollerbladers or cyclists, and they don’t take up much space.”

Currently, the city of Des Moines’ recreational trails are off limits to all motor vehicles. For Linharts’ business to become a reality, the City Council would have to pass an ordinance to change the rules to allow guided Segway tours. Linhart said cities such as San Francisco and Portland, Ore., have already rewritten their laws to include such tours.

“We’re not exactly blazing trails here,” Linhart said. “Other Midwestern cities such as Kansas City and Minneapolis have offered similar tours for upwards of two years.”

Linhart said the two-hour tours could run two or three times per day from March to October. A possible route might include visits to places such as the State Capitol and Des Moines Art Center and use pathways such as the Meredith Trail and when completed, the Principal Riverwalk. He expects to charge between $50 and $60 for the tours and instruction on Segway use. He thinks the tours would not only appeal to people visiting the city for conventions and other owntown events, but could also serve as a team-building activity for businesses.

“We’re just trying to bring something to Des Moines and do what everyone says they want done by bringing more attractions to downtown,” Linhart said.