Jennifer Kephart, owner of Omaha Pedicab, gains a lot of business from the College World Series.
In fact, pedaling passengers around the TD Ameritrade Park grounds and the downtown area is a big chunk of the entrepreneur's summertime activities.
“To take that 10 days away from me is a huge problem,” Kephart told the City Council on Tuesday. “It's a serious hit for me and what I do.”
Such testimony helped prompt council members to delay voting on a proposal to ban vehicles such as horse-drawn carriages or pedicab bicycles from operating near the stadium during the College World Series.
The five-week delay is designed to allow opponents an opportunity to meet with police officials and attempt to negotiate a compromise on the matter. A vote was originally scheduled for next week.
“I think there is a chance for a win-win situation here,” said Councilman Franklin Thompson.
The Omaha Police Department and other city agencies asked the council to prohibit such vehicles from using streets around the ballpark for three days leading up to the CWS and through the tournament’s final day.
Police officials say the problem is that slower-moving traffic caused by pedicabs and horse-drawn carriages can clog traffic flow and invite pedestrians to enter the roadway.
“It basically takes a normal, smooth process and puts a lot of divots in the road,” said Deputy Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer. “Our traffic commanders in the field … noticed what we felt was a public safety hazard.”
Todd Pfitzer, the city’s traffic engineer, said officials worked for months to build plans to ease traffic flow around the stadium during the tournament. Erecting a pedicab and carriage-free “clean zone” was an item they overlooked, he said.
No injuries or incidents related to such traffic were reported by officers, Schmaderer said, but traffic officers did note their concerns after the series ended.
Schmaderer said the department expects even more traffic around the stadium for the 2012 tournament, and an additional influx of pedicab operators in response to customer demand. That could create more problems, he said.
“It’s important to note that traffic flow has to be kept unimpeded in an event like this as much as possible,” Schmaderer said.
The ban would apply to an area bounded by Abbott Drive and Nicholas Street to the north, Interstate 480 to the south, 15th Street on the west and Riverfront Drive on the east. Regular bicycles would still be allowed.
Several community leaders and business owners testified against the proposed ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting.
Among them was Mark Donovan, operator of Magical Journey Carriage Services. Prohibiting carriage service from much of Riverfront Drive “would ban me from one of my most popular rides,” he said. “That would harm my business.”
Mike Battershell of the Greater Omaha Young Professionals organization said the city needed to support methods to create multiple forms of public transportation.
“To remain competitive and attract the best and brightest talent as a city, we must continue to not limit options for the entrepreneur and members of the community to make alternative transportation choices,” Battershell said.
A majority of council members also expressed their desire to implement regulations to control the number of pedicabs and carriages around the stadium during the CWS, as opposed to simply banning them from operating.
The nature of those regulations are expected to emerge during the coming month.
“It’s a scenario where we don’t want the Police Department to be perceived as against our business owners,” Schmaderer said. “We’re not.”
“If it’s addressed another way, and happens to work out, we’d certainly be all for that.”
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