ST. CLOUD, Fla. — The city of St. Cloud has limited parking in its downtown, something residents say can be especially tough when festivals or events are taking place.

To help alleviate the situation, city leaders voted Thursday to allow people to get around easier and encourage more to come to downtown.

What You Need To Know

  •  The St. Cloud City Commission approved an ordinance Thursday to allow pedicabs to operate in downtown

  •  Pedicab operators will have to be licensed by the city

  •  City leaders say they expect to have pedicabs in downtown by the summer

When events or festivals cause downtown to be closed off to cars, people generally end up branching out to either park in surrounding residential areas or at the lakefront. 

City leaders said they hope allowing pedicabs will help people get around easier and encourage more to come in to downtown.

Pedicabs are bikes that are attached to a cab that can be useful for getting around without worrying about parking.

City officials say it’s the charm of downtown they want people to stop and enjoy: murals on walls, small boutiques and bars and restaurants.

The other part of Downtown St. Cloud is the Lakefront Park area where Richard Lawrence's business, Toho Riverboat Adventures, is located.

“New York Avenue and Florida Avenue are our links to the downtown area,” said Lawrence, who goes by Capt. Stitch. “We are two different entities, but trying to work together, so it is quite a long walk.

He said parking during the day typically is not too bad in downtown or near the water, but when an event is taking center stage, there’s plenty of signage to let folks know about it.

“There’s quite a bit of festivals with our town growing at such an astronomical rate we are seeing more and more stuff going on,” he said. “Almost every weekend, something is going on down here and parking is one of the harder things to find.”

Lawrence and his friend and downtown local business owner, Jay Brown, say they came up with the pedicab idea to get better mobility for the designated boundary of downtown to the water.

“It’s half-a-mile worth of walking,” Lawrence said. “To some people, half a mile is nothing. To others, it’s an eternity. People that come on our riverboat here, they want to go downtown, they want to see and eat.”

The pedicabs will not be city run, but the city will require applications, insurance, and licenses for anyone who wants to operate one.

Vendors can apply now for a pedicab license, but city officials say none have been awarded, so far.

Pricing has not been set, but business owner Jay Brown, who has 15 pedicabs, says he hopes to be up and running by the Fourth of July weekend.