September vote was procedurally flawed
The New Orleans City Council voted Thursday, for the second time, to legalize the operation of for-hire pedicabs in Orleans Parish.
View full sizeOutside City Hall, Monotor Marcel Pete looks to park his pedicab next to one brought by Sal Palmisano prior to a City Council committee meeting on the proposal to legalize pedicabs on July 22. The council first passed the law last month but later discovered it had not been properly published beforehand in the city's official journal, making the vote invalid.
Thursday's 5-0 vote approved the same law, which opponents have threatened to challenge in court.
Even if the law remains in force, pedicab owners will not be able to begin operations immediately.
The council has directed the city's Ground Transportation Bureau, part of the Department of Safety and Permits, to submit to the council by Nov. 11 the policies and procedures the bureau will use in processing applications for pedicab permits. It is likely to be December or later before the pedal-powered rickshaws can begin picking up passengers.
The ordinance authorizes them to operate first during a trial period of 12 to 24 months, when 45 permits will be issued. The director of the Ground Transportation Bureau then is to recommend to the council whether to keep the limit at 45 or expand it to 65.
The law was originally passed 7-0 on Sept. 2 after a lengthy debate in which opponents said the new vehicles will take business away from taxicabs and mule-drawn carriages whose owners are already struggling financially.
They also claimed that the council's Transportation Committee and its chairwoman, Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, had failed to give them a proper hearing at earlier meetings. Palmer denied that, saying the issue was given months of review.
Such procedural arguments are likely to be prominent in possible lawsuits challenging the council's decision.
Thursday's debate was much shorter, with only one representative of rival transportation companies appearing to oppose the measure.
Mike Tifft, an attorney for a group of carriage and tour companies, repeated arguments he has made before, including that the council should have gotten input from the Police Department and the Department of Public Works and should have demanded an in-depth study of pedicabs' safety before authorizing their operation.
Tifft said his clients would drop their opposition if the council amended the law to ban pedicabs from operating on Decatur and North Peters streets in the French Quarter. The 700 block of Decatur, next to Jackson Square, is where carriages pick up most of their passengers.
However, Palmer did not respond to Tifft's offer, and the other council members made no comments on the entire measure.
The ordinance says pedicabs "shall be free to operate uninhibited in all parts of the city," although they are banned on streets with a speed limit of more than 35 mph unless the street has a designated bicycle lane.
Supporters have said pedicabs won't take business away from cabs or carriages because they appeal to different clienteles. They said pedicabs serve people wanting to travel only a few blocks, not the more lucrative long trips they said cabdrivers prefer, and they do not provide the same romantic atmosphere as carriages.
Supporters also insist pedicabs won't slow traffic in the French Quarter any more than carriages do.
With pedicabs already commonplace in many large cities, supporters have said New Orleans is one of the last major tourist cities in the world without such vehicles.
Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.