City of Monterey Climate Action Steps: Exploring commercial pedicabs

June 18, 2019 update: City of Monterey approved a pedicab ordinance.

@CityofMonterey approved a pedicab ordinance 5-0. Pedicab operators will have to be at least 21 years of age, have a valid driver's license, and complete bike safety training.#multimodal #multimodal19 #bike #Monterey

— Alan Haffa (@HaffaAlan) June 19, 2019

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When Clyde Roberson was the City of Monterey mayor beginning in 1983, the Monterey County Herald published a front-page photo of that bicycling mayor. Clyde was called back into service as mayor in 2014, and he’s still pedaling.

Mayor Roberson is not the only City of Monterey official who recognizes the economic, environmental, personal and public health, and many other benefits of biking. Read on to learn about the action taken by the Monterey City Council on March 6, 2018.

City of Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson, Vice-Mayor Ed Smith, and Council Members Dan Albert, Timothy Barrett, and Alan Haffa agreed on March 6, 2018 to explore changing the City’s 1985 resolution that prohibits commercial pedicab operations in Monterey.

Many residents and visitors could make use of this fun, environmentally friendly transportation option. Among them: spontaneous shoppers unexpectedly loaded down with bags, people with injuries or disabilities who’d like to enjoy Monterey’s beautiful scenery by bike but can’t pedal themselves, and people looking for a different way to have a romantic bike date. (After all, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, “Anyone who can bike safely while kissing isn’t giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”)

Pedicabs would also likely be popular with  elders/perennials who are no longer able to bike—not even to pedal a tandem or a multi-passenger surrey. Pedicabs are a way they too can get around by pedal-power. Read about Merced Bicycle Coalition’s Pedi-Cab Project in a Streetsblog Cal story, “Merced Bicycle Coalition Launches Pedicab Rides for Seniors“).

Allowing pedicabs would complement the City’s Climate Change actions, including Transportation Alternatives: http://monterey.org/Services/Environmental-Programs/Climate-Change/Transportation-Alternatives. If you’re a city resident, or a visitor to Monterey, contact the mayor and city council to let them know if you’d like to see commercial pedicabs operating in Monterey.

For the 3/6/18 meeting discussion, watch the City of Monterey’s video. Agenda item 14 (pedicabs) begins at 1:38:40 and ends at 1:47:30: http://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/m_3HX6961GRMsvkqSCdwmGeJ8rwpRZrR/playlists/4629/media/332484?sequenceNumber=1&autostart=false&showtabssearch=true.

For some pedicab photos, and City of Monterey pedicab history, see Bicycling Monterey’s post http://bit.ly/PedicabMRY.