Royal Oak Commissioners OK Pedal Pub, But Without Booze

Mike Gill, 46, of Bloomfield HIlls, won conditional approval this week to operate a people-powered trolley in Royal Oak. (Photo via Facebook)

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A pedal pub approved this week by the Royal Oak City Commission offers something of an oxymoron: There will be no actual pub in the human-powered vehicle that will roll around town.

Royal Oak joins about 50 U.S. cities with the cycles powered by multiple riders, a concept that originated in Europe, The Daily Tribune reports. Others in Michigan are in operation in Grand Rapids, Bay City, Traverse City and the Upper Peninsula.

None of them allows alcohol, but that could change after Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation last month allowing the consumption of beer, alcohol and wine on the pedal-powered trolleys, but Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O’Donohue recommended that commission members eschew booze.

Royal Oak ordinance prohibits open consumption of alcohol, and “the riders would be in violation of the law if they stepped off the (pedal cycle) and had a beer with them,” O’Donohue said.

City officials’ reservations about alcohol use on people-powered trolley stem in part with past problems with party buses that transport revelers from bar to bar.

“This is like a party bus, going from bar to bar and restaurant to restaurant. But our police chief was concerned that people would forget – if they step off the pedal car with a drink, they’re now violating the law about open alcoholic beverages,” Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison told the Detroit Free Press.

Mike Gill, the 46-year-old Bloomfield Hills man who is bringing The Michigan Pedaler to Royal Oak, told The Daily Tribune he still expects the pedal cycle to be a popular attraction, even without alcohol.

“It’s like a moving restaurant where you can sit three feet across from someone and have a conversation while going for a ride,” said Gill, who operates public-relations firm in Royal Oak. “A lot of people use this in the evenings to do pub crawls or (visit) restaurants.”

Fitness groups and older groups of children heading to a movie or pizza party might also want to take the pedal cycles for a spin, Gill said.

Pedal cycles may be operated on public streets under the new state law. It allows alcohol consumption, but also gives local governments the power to ban drinking on board.

Some other states allow alcohol consumption. Gill said he hasn’t heard of any problems in those locations.

Royal Oak community development director Tim Thwing told The Daily Tribune other companies have inquired about bringing pedal cycles, which are also known as quadricycles, to the city.

City Commissioner Patricia Paruch is worried the trolleys will cause traffic headaches.

“I’m pessimistic it’s not going to be a traffic issue,” she said. “Our footprint in the downtown is so small.”

The city commissioners gave only conditional approval to the pedal pub, directing the city attorney to draft an ordinance spelling out where the vehicle could operate and park, and whether the city would regulate ride prices.

If it doesn’t work out, Ellison said, the city can always repeal the ordinance.

“I think it brings an interesting dynamic to our downtown,” the mayor said. “If it doesn’t work out we can simply repeal the ordinance.”

Gill expects to introduce a quadricycle, which will be built in Arizona this fall, in Royal Oak in April, then operate seasonally until fall. The cost of the trolley is about $50,000. It will be equipped with an electric motor that will allow the driver, who doesn’t pedal, to park or move the vehicle.

“I’ve had the hope of bringing this to southeast Michigan for years,” Gill said. “I think it gives a city a special cachet.”