Springfield,IL,USA: Pedicab plan waits for council

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Springfield State Journal Register - Springfield,IL,USA

Pedicab plan waits for council


By CHRIS WETTERICH
STAFF WRITER


Springfield could soon see a mode of downtown transportation with a more cosmopolitan flair as a local entrepreneur plans to set up a business that would transport people around in a pedicab.

Pedicabs - large bicycles that can fit three passengers and are pedaled by a single driver - can be seen in larger cities such as Chicago and are more common in Asia.

Elvis Rowland plans to unveil his new business as soon as he can get approval from the Springfield City Council so he can take advantage of the warm weather and increased tourist and pedestrian traffic provided by the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

Rowland will have four pedicabs circling two routes downtown if the business is approved. The cabs will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. He hasn't set an exact cost yet but said a round-trip will be $3 to $6, with children paying less.

The pedicabs, which have 18 gears and use a 12-volt battery, are about 48 inches wide, eight feet long and weigh 200 pounds. They also have canopies, seat belts, turn signals and front and rear lights. A pedicab can haul about 600 pounds.

The business is seasonal and will operate only when it's warm enough and there's no precipitation, Rowland told aldermen at a committee meeting Monday.

The four pedicabs will have two routes - one during the day to serve those visiting the Lincoln sites, and one at night that will take people around to restaurants and the Hoogland Center for the Arts. People will be able to catch the pedicabs at the grassy knoll at the Lincoln Library on Capitol Avenue. At night, riders will be picked up at the Old Capitol Plaza.

The daytime route will go down Seventh Street, take a right turn on Cook Street, come back up Sixth Street and take a right turn on Washington Street back to Seventh.

The nighttime route will take passengers from Sixth to Jefferson Street, turn left at Jefferson and then at Fifth before heading back to Capitol Avenue.

"You're aware there's crazy people that drive on those streets?" Ward 4 Ald. Chuck Redpath asked Rowland.

Rowland, a Chicago native who has lived in Springfield for 27 years, said the bicycles will stay to the right on the road. The city's traffic engineering department has approved his plans.

"We're hoping that it will be a good business for Springfield," Rowland said. "It's going to be a leisurely ride around the downtown area."

The public affairs and safety committee passed an ordinance licensing pedicabs for use downtown. The full council likely will vote on the matter today.

Initially, the city proposed charging Rowland a $100 annual licensing fee plus $50 per pedicab, but Redpath and Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards said that was too much. The new cost will be $50 for a license and $25 per pedicab, if the council approves the ordinance.

Also Monday, aldermen put off acting on several 3 a.m. liquor licenses that have been stuck in the public affairs committee for months. They decided to put the licenses before the full council for a vote at its April 20 meeting.

When the public affairs committee next meets April 18, aldermen will again discuss the issue and invite comments from the bar owners and the public.

The council has delayed a vote on the licenses since August to address complaints from downtown residents about noise, litter and vandalism associated with 3 a.m. bars. A melee in early August outside a downtown bar sparked the formation of a subcommittee to study the issue.

The subcommittee declined to recommend either approval or disapproval of the pending licenses, but some aldermen favor rolling back liquor licenses so that all Springfield bars must close by 1 or 2 a.m.

Three establishments - Catch 22 at 11 West Old Capitol Plaza, The Firehouse Tavern at 430 E. Monroe St. and Club 217 at 3075 Normandy Road - are requesting licenses that would allow them to be open until 3 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Dempsey's at 225 E. Monroe, which is now known as Mojo's, and Busters Sports Bar and Grill, 1120 Sangamon Ave., want 3 a.m. licenses for Saturday and Sunday.

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Springfield State Journal Register - Springfield,IL,USA
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E.C. Rowland pedals his pedicab Thursday on Fifth Street in downtown
Springfield as he gives a tour to Herman and Beverly Havinga of Orland Park.

WHEEL CHARACTER
Eye-catching pedicabs join downtown traffic

By DANIEL PIKE
STAFF WRITER


E.C. Rowland tucks his right pant leg into a dress sock and he's ready to go. "Don't want to get my stuff caught," Rowland says as he slides behind the wheel of his blue-and-white pedicab. Or pedal cab. Or quadricycle.

Whatever you call them, Rowland's two shiny, canopied vehicles are hard to miss. The main offerings of Rowland's new business, Capital City Cycle Tours, have a high head-turning quotient.

"You see how this thing draws a lot of attention?" says the 50-something Rowland, who begins to break a sweat as he approaches the Old State Capitol on Sixth Street. "Look at the smiles on the people's faces when they see it."

Most people know the affable Rowland by his first name, which he shares with a certain rock-and-roll legend. But he's grown tired of enduring well-intentioned jokes about it, so he asked that his initials be used in the newspaper.

No matter. Thanks to Rowland's near-constant chatter and horn-honking at pedestrians, he's starting to be known as "your friendly pedal cab driver," which suits Rowland just fine.

"It's not all about me making money," says Rowland, who also works for the Department of Agriculture. "It's about being part of Springfield."

Rowland got the pedicab idea after visiting his brother in San Diego, where he met some people who rented the cycles to the public.

After about a year of research and planning, Rowland officially opened the business July 1. His two, four-seater cabs - the other one is red and white - wait for riders on Seventh Street, across from Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Drivers sell drinks at the stand, because Rowland says there's a "dry spell between Lincoln Home and points north."

Rides are $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12. Drivers take riders either from Lincoln Home to the presidential library or around a 2.2-mile downtown loop.

The vehicles are equipped with seat belts and battery-powered headlights, brake lights and turn signals. The cycles have disc-braking systems, and the company's four drivers practiced with the vehicles before working downtown.

Rowland received a permit to operate the cabs in the city, and he staunchly refuses to let anyone other than his employees drive.

The safety precautions are important. The drivers largely cling to the sides of congested downtown streets, but they occasionally must mosey into traffic.

Only motorists have offered negative reactions so far, says 17-year-old driver Ian Henson, who will be a senior at Southeast High School this fall. Henson drives during daytime hours, the business's slow period.

"People are impatient," Henson says. "All you can tell them is, 'Hey, I can't go as fast as you guys.'"

Of the four drivers - including Rowland - two are young adults. Rowland wants pedicab-driving to become as popular as summer gigs such as lifeguarding.

"I envision this as a job that a kid coming home for the summer would look for," he says. "In the future, I'd like my company to be like, 'Oh man, I want to be a pedal cab driver this summer.' You know, meet other kids, meet people from all over."

He also realizes the cab rides appeal strongly to the young. Rides are available to anyone, but he says he keeps an eye out for children.

"I don't want to compare myself to a carnival ride, but especially for kids, you know, they've been traveling, cooped up in the car," Rowland says. "Or even if they've been walking all day, this is kind of a nice change."

Rowland's permit expires Oct. 31, and he'll end the season by donating rides at the Iles Park Neighborhood Association's Halloween party, he says. He's also considering renting the cabs for special occasions, as long as renters allow Rowland's drivers to operate the cycles.

But he's adamant that the company's main goal is to offer transportation around downtown, and to become a memorable aspect of tourists' experiences.

"If they get a ride, or a bottle of water or lemonade, we've done our part to make their trip to Springfield enjoyable," he says.

On this day last week, Rowland satisfied at least a few customers. A small group of walkers bought drinks after leaving Lincoln Home, and Rowland spotted them a few blocks later while pedaling the cab.

"Was that water cold?" Rowland hollers from the road.

"It was wonderful, thanks," is the reply.

"All right," Rowland says, beeping the cab's high-pitched horn. "Two toots for you!"