Evanston safe from burdensome pedicab regulations … for now
The proposed ordinance was so restrictive that one alderman likened it to “beating a mosquito with an automatic weapon.”
Evanston City Council tabled a proposed ordinance on March 9 that would have severely restricted pedicabs in the city of Evanston, deciding that it would revisit the issue in a year, if needed. This is great news for pedicab drivers and entrepreneurs, especially those who were burdened by last year’s ordinance limiting pedicabs in neighboring Chicago.
Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz came up with the idea to regulate pedicabs in response to traffic issues after Northwestern University football games. The resulting proposed ordinance, however, was so restrictive that one alderman likened it to “beating a mosquito with an automatic weapon.”
It’s not exactly clear how pedicabs contribute to traffic issues in Evanston after Northwestern football games, but the 13-page proposed ordinance drawn up by the Evanston legal department was so excessive that it likely would have put a stop to pedicabs in Evanston altogether.
In order to obtain a pedicab license, the proposed ordinance would have required pedicab owners to have their principal place of business in the city of Evanston, even though there are no pedicab businesses with their principal place of business currently in Evanston. This restriction is similar to one in Evanston’s ordinance regulating food trucks, which allows only owners or agents of Evanston brick-and-mortar food establishments to operate food trucks in the city. The Liberty Justice Center has file a lawsuit challenging that restriction in court on behalf of Beavers Coffee and Donuts as a violation of their constitutional rights.
The proposed pedicab regulations also would have limited the number of licensed pedicabs to 10 and imposed annual fees of $150 per pedicab and $25 per driver. The proposed ordinance would have required applicants to submit to fingerprinting and provide photographs of the applicant, as well as pay an undefined nonrefundable fee for the privilege of doing so.
The restrictions didn’t end there.
Pedicab drivers would have to provide certification from an Illinois-licensed physician saying that he or she has the capability to operate a pedicab and pass a drug test and a background check. Drivers would also have to pass a test to demonstrate a knowledge of the geography of Evanston and the laws, ordinances and regulations governing vehicle operation in the city.
In other words, the proposed ordinance would have essentially eliminated pedicabs from Evanston. The artificial limit on the number of pedicabs along with the fees, background requirements and tests would deter operators of pedicabs from applying for a license. And pedicab entrepreneurs would have longer startup times and higher startup costs in order to operate in Evanston. When Chicago placed restrictions on the number of pedicab licenses it would issue and prohibited pedicabs from operating in popular areas of the city, the result was a steep reduction in pedicabs.
Rather than attempt to address the problem for which the ordinance was proposed – traffic after Northwestern football games – by seeking ways in which pedicabs could actually help clear the congestion, the proposed Evanston ordinance would in all likelihood have eliminated an alternative form of transportation as an option, as pedicabbers’ costs of operating there would have likely outweighed the benefits.
It’s good news that the City Council of Evanston recognized these restrictions as unnecessary. Like the ordinance severely restricting pedicabs that did pass in Chicago, the proposed rules were regulations in search of a problem. Cities should reject overly restrictive ordinances on innovative businesses because they have the effect of driving small-business owners and entrepreneurs away, depriving residents of their benefits and infringing on the right to earn a living.
Image credit: Tom Ellefsen