Idaho Springs now has a pedicab service after the City Council unanimously approved its vendor license at a July 20 special meeting.
Cooper Frey and Clay Robertson, who are Mountain Youth Network participants, hope to start offering rides by Mountain Youth Pedicabs this weekend.
The goal is to help local youth gain business experience and get them out in the community, MYN Coordinator Laura Robertson previously said. The company plans to do a trial period by operating the rest of the summer and perhaps on a weekends-only basis in the fall.
City Attorney Carmen Beery confirmed the vendor license will only be viable for the rest of the calendar year, as there are a lot of unknowns about how long the pedestrian marketplace will last, how long into the fall the weather would allow pedicabs to operate and how long COVID-19 implications will last.
Beery and Police Chief Chris Malanka added that the pedicabs must be insured and obey all traffic codes as bicycles, including having lights and reflectors to operate at dusk. The pedicabs also won’t be able to have customers after sunset.
Malanka explained that while the pedicabs aren’t allowed to be on Colorado Boulevard itself because they wouldn’t be able to maintain the speed of vehicles, they can use sidewalks.
Mayor Mike Hillman expressed his enthusiasm for the pedicabs business, saying others have talked of doing it, but he was glad to see someone finally implement it and hoped it would be around long-term.