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NEWS / WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
LAWRENCE
New transportation option cleared
BY ALEESE KOPF akopf@kansan.com
Pedicabs such as this one may be seen in downtown Lawrence as soon as March. City commissioners passed a city ordinance Tuesday to allow pedicabs in Lawrence.
Starting next month, students could be riding in the backseat of a pedicab down the streets of downtown instead of walking the seven blocks from one end to the other.
Pedicabs — bicycles attached to small trailers and used like taxis — were approved by an ordinance at Tuesday's City Commission meeting. The ordinance, initiated by Lawrence resident Shane Powers, lays out the rules and regulations regarding the licensing and operation of pedicabs within the city.
Powers, who was inspired after visiting Austin, Texas, plans to run many different routes around Lawrence for Powers Pedicabs. The service will offer both tours and taxi rides.
"With any luck I will be up and running in March," Powers said. "I've had a few setbacks along the way but everything is coming back on track, and I am pretty confident that you will see me out next month."
"I think pedicabs sound like a cool idea for Lawrence. They sound like a fun alternative ..."
Bowersock Dam, the home of the "Kansas Hermit," a Civil War vet who lived in a tree house, the Eldridge, 701 Massachusetts St., and other landmarks relating to Quantrill's raid, all near the downtown area of Massachusetts Street.
Sam Sink, a KU parking and transit intern who spoke on behalf of KU on Wheels, said the
Powers said he planned to charge a regular fee of $1 per person per block and begin his business with at least one immediate employee. Eventually, he plans to own five pedicabs and employ five to eight people who would be independent contractors paying him for the use of his cabs. He is considering giving tours of the KU campus as well, but said nothing was finalized yet.
Jenny Brockel, a senior from White Bear Lake, Minn., said she would use the pedicabs to take a ride from the downtown bars to her house near 13th and Kentucky streets.
"I think pedicabs sound like a cool idea for Lawrence," Brockel said. "They sound like a fun alternative to visiting downtown, and would be practical for the weekends."
For next month Powers plans to focus on operating downtown and providing rides for people watching basketball games during March Madness. His goal for next fall is to provide a service that takes people from their distant parking locations to the stadium during football season. Eventually, he said, he would also like to provide tours of Lawrence. The tours would stop at places such as the
JENNY BROCKEL
White Bear Lake, Minn., senior
University did not currently have any rules or regulations regarding pedicabs on campus or plans to change existing regulations to accommodate pedicabs, Sink
said although pedicabs may be useful for downtown, KU Transit does not expect it to become a major trend on campus.
"I doubt there will be many pedicab operators willing to scale Mt Oread often enough to see pedicabs become a common mode of transportation on campus," Sink said.
Regulations of the ordinance itself might provide further restrictions. Under the new code, pedicabs must operate on streets that don't exceed 30 mph and must also meet equipment and size requirements.
Scott Miller, a staff attorney for the city, drafted the ordinance based upon the ordinances of cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco and San Diego, which have significant experience with pedicab operation within city limits. Powers said he hoped this would become a growing trend in
DEFINITION OF A PEDICAB
"Pedicab" means a vehicle upon which a person may ride,which alone or with a trailer, that:
(1) has two or more wheels
(2) is propelled exclusively by human power
(3) is utilized to carry passengers for hire
(4) is no greater than 55 inches in width and 10 feet in length
Source: http://www.ci.lawrence.
ks.us/
Lawrence as well.
Recommendations for city tours or campus operations are welcome at shane.pwrs@gmail. com.
Edited by Taylor Bern
REQUIRED PEDICAB EQUIPMENT:
1. A slow moving vehicle emblem on the rear of the vehicle.
2. A functioning seat-belt for each passenger seat.
3. A functioning lamp on the front that emits a white light visible from at least 500 feet in front of the pedicab.
4. At least two functioning tail lights mounted to the rear of the pedicab.
5. Functioning electric turn signal lamps.
6. Functioning hydraulic mechanical disc or drum brakes.
7. A clearly visible manufacturer's serial number or identification number that has not been altered or defaced.
8. The trade name of the owner of the pedicab and the pedicab number assigned by the City.
TRANSIT
Joint bus facility has advantages
BY ALEESE KOPF akopf@kansan.com
A new facility meant to provide more space and efficiency for the University and city buses will be completed this December.
The University and City transit departments will be coordinating the project, which will cost an estimated $4.5 million, according to the purchasing contract from the University.
The Lawrence City Commission authorized the mayor to execute a memorandum of understanding between the city and the University at Tuesday's city commission meeting, indicating a commitment by the city to a formal lease agreement.
The term of the city-University lease will begin Jan. 1, 2011, and extend for 10 years.
According to the memorandum prepared by the city, base rent for the new facility would be set at $125,495 for the first five years and increase 4 percent per year for the remaining five. The city will pay the rent to the University, but it is projected to save the city $806,588 during the 10-year period, according to a spreadsheet prepared by city staff.
According to Derek Meter, transportation coordinator of KU Parking & Transit, the city is going to buy six buses for the University using Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money. This would make available $2 million in bus acquisition dollars to pay for the facility during the next two years. The remaining funds would come from a long-term lease agreement with the city and annual payments from the city transit department.
Danny Kaiser, assistant director of KU Parking & Transit, said $1.385 million of KU Parking funds would go toward the facility. He said KU Parking also would generate funds from student fees, which would be re-allocated from the bus acquisition restricted fee to the facility. Student fees would contribute $1 million in FY10 and in FY11.
Meier said that the transit commission for the University favored the financing mechanism for a new facility and that he thought the lease agreement was an equitable and fair deal for KU students.
"The existing facility is undersized, under-equipped, non citycode compliant and otherwise inadequate in regards to a transit system our size," Meier said. "The new facility will provide the function and space we need to provide better service on the street at a reduced cost."
Meier mentioned increased maintenance space, an automated bus wash, on-site fuel and appropriate sized dispatch and training centers as a few of the new additions.
The project includes several green initiatives as well, including the capacity to contain recycled steel and a bio-swale. A bio-swale is a type of drainage system, which would help control run-off pollution.
Mitch Knopp, a senior from Manhattan and student senate treasurer, said part of his vote on behalf of the 10-person KU Transit Commission to proceed with the project was based on the city leasing the facility from the University, not the other way around. He also said the project was worth the money in the long run.
"I wasn't 100 percent sure until I had actually seen photos of our current maintenance facility — it's atrocious," Knopp said.
"The numbers don't tell me this is a good deal" Chestnut said. "My situation does."
Mayor Robert Chestnut said he had a hard time seeing where the projected savings were coming from. His main concerns were in entering a binding decision after short discussion, without knowing how much it would cost the city if the new facility was not exempt from property tax. But, in the end, he decided the facility was the right thing to do.
- Edited by Megan Heacock
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