Bloomington has a reputation as one of the toughest places in the state to do business.
Its regulations are thickets, its bureaucrats nit-pickers, its public officials aloof. At least thatâ??s how many businesspeople view the city.
The latest controversy pits the city against a man who wants to start a rickshaw service. Chris Waggoner wants to hire a few workers to pedal people around downtown Bloomington. Waggoner likes Scottish pedicabs, and he thinks people here would, too.
But the city has handed the matter to its attorney to see if the city would open itself to liability.
On the one hand, the cityâ??s caution seems prudent; on the other hand, it has a tinge of overreach.
What do you think?
Its regulations are thickets, its bureaucrats nit-pickers, its public officials aloof. At least thatâ??s how many businesspeople view the city.
The latest controversy pits the city against a man who wants to start a rickshaw service. Chris Waggoner wants to hire a few workers to pedal people around downtown Bloomington. Waggoner likes Scottish pedicabs, and he thinks people here would, too.
But the city has handed the matter to its attorney to see if the city would open itself to liability.
On the one hand, the cityâ??s caution seems prudent; on the other hand, it has a tinge of overreach.
What do you think?
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I would totally use it though. Great idea and would be great for families that come in to town where it is harder for them to walk around downtown as easily, esp, up and down the hills and side streets (grandmas visiting grandkids at IU, disabled, etc.)
To Todd's comment, not sure why you brought up Bush, but if the socialists in Bloomington had their way people would be thrown in jail for talking bad about minorities or other protected groups.
These rules and regulations have made Bloomington what it is today. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a change, which a change is needed down there, but regulations have their purpose when they are thoughtfully though out. One example being paying for trash instead of recycling, something the rest of the state should take note of, especially indianapolis. Probabaly one of the worst medium sized cities in terms of recycling.
And to your point about recycling. Yes let's have the government get involved and hole a gun to your head and demand that you recycle or forcibly pay a fine. Now that's freedom!
As a matter of fact, as I sit here typing this, I am working through pain in my right arm from a broken clavicle that has yet to fully heal after I was thrown from a rickshaw this past New Year's (2008) in Ft Lauderdale, FL.
And while I'd like to express a grimacing look of disgust on my face at Waggoner's un-researched statistics, I can't: my face is still paralyzed on the right side from the skull fracture and brain injury I sustained in that same accident.
Allow me to restate that in full:
I was almost killed on New Year's Eve when a pedicab I was riding in Ft Lauderdale was struck by a car, and I was sent flying, head first, into a bridge. I suffered a broken clavicle, broken pelvis, and the right side of my face is still paralyzed from the skull fracture/head injury. I have been unable to work since the accident, still can't hear in my rt. ear (or smile, or blink my eye, or talk properly), and I did not get a dime from the pedicab company, the city of Ft Lauderdale, or any insurance company.
The friend I was traveling with had her knee blown out, and she had to have it rebuilt with plates. She is just now starting to get around without a cane or crutches.
As a graduate of Indiana University (two degrees, 1997, Phi Beta Kappa), and a former resident of Bloomington, I am happy to see the city is putting careful thought into their decision on whether or not to regulate these vehicles. Unfortunately, the city officials in Lauderdale were not so wise. Not only did they not have regulations in place to insure the safety of passengers opting for this mode of transportation, they let a pedicab business owner secure city permits without having proper insurance. (That pedicab company had a bogus insurance policy, which the city never verified. That pedicab owner, Kevin Green, has now had his permits revoked. Meanwhile, I am still trying to sue the city for its negligence.)
I say, if rickshaws are going to be allowed to operate, there need to be special operator licensing and maintenance regulations in place, the owners MUST carry insurance (if Waggoner does, that's great), and the cities where they operate need to have policies in place that restrict where these vehicles can travel.
For more on my accident, please visit:
http://blog.myspace.com/jewelswoolf
For more on what's been happening in New York City as a result of my New Year's Eve accident (because, unlike Ft Lauderdale, NYC is paying attention), including changes being brought about there by Peter Meitzler, the founding board member of the New York City Pedicab Operators Association (NYCPOA), please visit:
http://megayachtnews.blogspot.com/2008/07/hit-and-run-driver-update-part-ii.html
Yes, this is an alternative, green mode of transportation, but unless regulated properly, the cons outweigh the pros. I hope that Bloomington city officials take note of this.
~Julie Perry
Let Bloomington be Bloomington, and let the city rise or fall on its own with all their regulations. They don't seem to have a problem luring people seeking a beautiful, well-educated community with a wealth of recreational and cultural opportunities. No doubt those Best Places to Live surveys are left-wing skewed as well, right? Funny, though, most people would scarcely consider those great patriots and anti-socialists in Martinsville to have cultivated a fine place to live; I wonder why that is? Could it be that Bloomington's anti-hate crime laws are protected its more diverse citizens from the Martinsville crowd?
Indiana could certainly benefit from a few more Bloomingtons.
We had a pedicab company up here in Indy a few years ago that stopped operating after awhile - not sure if it was lack of business or what...
First I have fixed part of your post to be more accurate:
Could it be that Bloomington’s thought crime laws...
First of all Bloomington isn't luring anyone there (-.1% population growth 2000-2006). Also I wouldn't call it a particularly beautiful place. For a college town it's nice, but to actually live and work there? Not so much. Also, not really sure why you would think that anyone here would be promoting Martinsville's way of life.