Earlier this month, the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission ordered Brookdale Farms to stop operating its horse and carriages.
The move prompted owner Jerry Kirk to sue the commission, alleging it doesn’t have the authority to regulate horse-drawn carriages because carriages do not have a motor, they charge by time and not distance, and they do not have a taxi meter or GPS-based fare calculator.
Under an agreement with the city, the commission investigates carriages that work “in violation of the heat regulation prohibiting the operation of horse carriages when the heat and humidity combine to cause a comparable temperature of 100 degrees,” according to a cease-and-desist letter accusing Kirk’s carriages of working when too hot and using drivers not licensed by the taxi commission.
Relations have not been good between regulators and the carriage industry for the last couple of years, said Greg Streeter, owner of St. Louis Carriage Co.
The tension began in earnest in the summer of 2014 when Pam Walker, then the city’s health director, stopped a carriage near Washington Avenue, saying the horse pulling it was suffering from heat stroke.
One veterinarian contradicted that claim. That horse, named Moose, was owned by Brookdale Farms.
Walker led an unsuccessful campaign to shut down the industry.
“Since then, I’ve noticed a big difference in how they’ve treated us,” Streeter said of the taxi commission and the city. His carriage company is the largest in St. Louis and has been in business for more than 30 years.
Changes include banning carriages from parking in some places such as near the Old Cathedral, in the area of Walnut Street and Memorial Drive, and from operating between 4 and 6 p.m.
Streeter said the taxi commission has allowed too many new carriage companies into the market, a move he says is at the root of the problem.
Kirk agrees. He’s also upset about hikes in licensing fees for carriages and drivers — he believes the taxi commission needs more money to fund its legal fight against UberX.
“We’re a seasonal job. We’re not a taxi driver out there 365 days a year,” he said.
Kirk continues to operate, saying he believes the cease-and-desist order is limited to unlicensed drivers. He’s getting calls from people worried the carriages already booked for events such as weddings won’t be available.
“It’s unfair when we license our drivers and carriages and another company doesn’t,” said Aidan McNamara, co-owner of Claddagh Carriage Co. It’s the newest of the four carriage companies that operate downtown, and began business in the spring.
Complaints about carriage companies have made their way to the taxi commission.
Ron Klein, the group’s director, sent an email to the four carriage companies on July 25, saying he had received several complaints over the weekend about carriages operating where they aren’t supposed to, such as at Memorial and Walnut.
That area has been a source of concern with the carriages, said Ryan McClure, a spokesman for CityArchRiver, the foundation spearheading the $380 million Gateway Arch grounds renovation.
“We think they’re great and want them to succeed. But we want them to succeed in a way that keeps everyone safe,” he said.
St. Louis Police Capt. Renee Kriesmann, commander of the district that covers downtown, wrote in an email to Klein and others on Aug. 18 that the horse carriages were becoming more of a nuisance downtown.
Other complaints included a carriage that drove on a bicycle/walking path to avoid a police barricade on Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard near the Arch.
“You have millions of dollars being spent down there to fix it up and make it nice and there’s horse poop on the road and pee,” said Abdul-Kariem Matteuzzi of Kirkwood. “They’re claiming that they’re cleaning it up, but they’re not.”
He and his father are frequent visitors to the Arch to play Pokemon Go, and say they’ve seen horses urinate on the walkway along the riverfront, leaving behind a nasty stench — and less than pleasant to deal with when wearing flip-flops.
Leah Thorsen • 314-340-8320
@leahthorsen on Twitter
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