Counting the driver, a pedicab is a bicycle built for three

From Naperville Sun
March 11, 2009
People think of different things when they ponder Naperville.

Some form a mental image of the Riverwalk. Others the Carillon. Still others of the bustling downtown.

The mental image I've been carrying around with me for the last couple of days is of a police officer commandeering a pedicab to chase a bank robber who is fleeing in a pedicab.

"Pedicab driver, follow that pedicab," the cop might yell.

I have to admit I'm sorry I missed whatever discussion the City Council had about pedicabs for the downtown.

I'd never even heard of a pedicab until we got a letter to the editor from residents Abbie Jane and Tom Williams complaining that "pedicabs that hold all of two passengers that will clog the downtown streets."

When I ran the term "pedicab" through The Sun's computerized library system, I came up with an episode of "The Apprentice" from 2004 in which they featured a typical "Apprentice" assignment -- the contestants were supposed to run a rickshaw stand in Manhattan and find innovative ways to get people of ride the pedicabs.

For that is what a pedicab is, a modernized version of the Chinese rickshaw.

The modern-day ones have the front part of a bicycle pulling a small carriage that holds a couple of passengers.

Think of the times you've seen a dad on a bicycle pulling a carriage with a little kid in it, then double the passenger capacity, and you've pretty much got the concept.

Apparently they use them in Chicago, Joliet and Oak Park, among other cities.

As the Williamses put it, "Transportation is not needed downtown. The farthest anyone would ever have to work to cover the downtown is four blocks in any direction."

The point is well taken, but one can see a certainly utility for pedicabs for people who are unable to walk several blocks. That, after all, is the best reason to have valet parking at the restaurants.

Both valet parking and pedicabs are a convenience for those who don't want to walk a few blocks, but much more than that for people who physically can't walk a few blocks.

The council, which usually can be counted on to disagree over almost anything, unanimously approved the drafting of an ordinance to allow these last week, and since the impetus for pedicabs comes from the company that would run them, you can bet you should be seeing them on Naperville streets pretty soon.

Incidentally, these will only run spring through fall.

The city staff has done its usual thorough job of vetting these things, so I guess we can assume Naperville will have safe, comfortable pedicabs. World-class pedicabs friendly to children and all that.

Maybe the Last Fling can have pedicab races.

Still, when the inevitable happens, we'll get to read in The Sun "Two pedicabs collided yesterday at the intersection of ..."