City Backpedals on 16th Street Mall Pedal Cab Ban

Pedal cabs are now allowed back on the 16th Street Mall, after the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure listened to disgruntled pedal cab drivers and backpedaled on a ban.

On August 11, DOTI announced that the city would be expanding the areas where pedal cabs could legally operate, saying the changes would expand drivers' access to Empower Field at Mile High as well as open up the RiNo Art District, Auraria and more of Capitol Hill.

Pedal cab drivers were not happy with the announcement, though, charging that the city has a double standard for bikes, e-bikes and horse-drawn carriages, which are allowed to operate in places where pedal cabs are banned. Their primary complaint focused on the 16th Street Mall, where pedal cabs haven't been allowed since the mall's major renovation project began, and they made their concerns known at the city's unveiling of the mall's new pedestrian surface on August 17.

After city officials met with several pedal cab operators on August 26, it sent this announcement to drivers: "Based on your recent feedback and input received by the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), the City and County of Denver has refined the city traffic engineer memo guiding pedal cab operations in Denver."

According to the new memo, pedal cabs are permitted to operate on the 16th Street Mall any time except from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, not including holidays. They are not allowed to operate anywhere on the mall that is under construction, and they should follow the mall's shuttle detour routes. These changes in policy put pedal cab drivers more on par with horse-drawn carriages, which also are only allowed to operate on the mall transitway on weekday evenings and weekends.

Pedal cabs can operate on arterial roadways inside the Central Business District except from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.  The updated rules only change operations inside the Central Business District, so regulations for the expanded area remain the same. Pedal cabs still cannot operate on major arterial roadways outside the Central Business District and are not allowed on a sidewalk unless it is a designated bike route. When loading and unloading passengers, drivers must maintain a minimum of a five-inch walking path for all pedestrians and should not interfere with pedestrians traveling on the sidewalk.

"Our modifications balance pedal cab operations, and the additional mobility choice they provide our residents and visitors," the August 26 announcement said.

And what happens once the mall construction work is over? According to Nancy Kuhn, DOTI public information officer, no decisions have yet been made; the department will continue to discuss the possibilities with pedal cab operators.

Although Sammy Kosechequetah, a pedal cab driver who spoke with Westword earlier this month about his concerns, says that he's appreciative of being allowed back on the mall, he sees the move as no more than a "band-aid" while the future of pedal cabs on the mall is still in limbo.