(a) No carriage may operate in or upon the public rights of way of the City without displaying its carriage license and its carriage business license, unless exempt under division (c) of Section 447.02 from the license requirements.
(b) No carriage operator may operate a carriage without having the carriage operator’s license issued pursuant to division (d) of Section 447.07 upon his or her person, unless exempt under division (c) of Section 447.02 from the license requirements. When passengers are being picked up or discharged by a horse-drawn carriage, a carriage operator’s assistant shall assist the carriage operator so that the carriage operator may devote his or her attention entirely to operating the carriage and keeping the horse and carriage under secure control.
(c) Every carriage business shall provide each of its horse-drawn vehicles with rate cards which set forth the rates and charges filed with the Commissioner pursuant to division (a)(3) of Section 447.03 unless exempt under division (c) of Section 447.02 from the license requirements. Rate cards shall be prominently displayed within each carriage, and each carriage operator shall acquaint all prospective passengers with current rates and charges prior to taking on said passengers. Rates shall not be changed without ten (10) days prior written notice to the Commissioner.
(d) No carriage operator or carriage operator’s assistant shall solicit passengers in a loud voice or in such a manner as to annoy or obstruct the movement of any person; nor shall any carriage operator pursue any person for purposes of soliciting patronage.
(e) No carriage operator or carriage operator’s assistant shall smoke while operating a carriage that is carrying passengers.
(f) No carriage operator shall permit the occupancy of the carriage which he or she is operating to exceed the rated seating capacity of that carriage.
(g) Each carriage operator shall ensure that all of his or her passengers are seated inside the carriage when the carriage is in motion.
(h) Carriages shall be operated as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, shall obey all traffic laws, rules, and regulations applicable to motor vehicles, and shall exercise due care when passing a standing vehicle or a vehicle which is proceeding in the same direction.
(i) Horse-drawn carriages shall pick up and discharge passengers only while legally parked at the curb in zones established by the Director of Public Safety after consultation with the Commissioner of Traffic Engineering. All other carriages may pick up and discharge passengers anywhere along their approved routes, provided that they are legally parked at the curb when doing so.
(j) No person shall operate a carriage on the streets of the City except during the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, 6:00 p.m. to midnight, Mondays through Fridays, and 8:00 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
(k) No person shall operate a carriage on any street of the City which has been closed pursuant to lawful authority, including closings pursuant to Sections 133.03, 403.05, or 411.05 of these Codified Ordinances. Upon notification of the Police Traffic Commissioner that special circumstances cause a particular street or a particular area to be unsafe or too congested for the operation of carriages during a specified time period, no person shall operate a carriage upon such street or in such area during such time period.
(l) No person shall carry passengers in a carriage into or out of the Flats on the west side of the Cuyahoga River. No person shall carry passengers in a carriage into or out of the Flats on the east side of the Cuyahoga River, except on Front Street.
(m) All horse-drawn carriage business owners and horse-drawn carriage operators shall maintain their horses in accordance with the following standards of animal husbandry:
(1) No person shall operate a horse-drawn carriage when the temperature, as reported by the National Weather Service, exceeds eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit (85°F).
(2) No person shall work any one (1) horse more than six (6) hours per day.
(3) Every horse-drawn carriage owner shall properly fit or cause to be fitted each of his or her horses with rubber shoes.
(4) Every horse-drawn carriage business owner and every horse-drawn carriage operator shall ensure that his or her horses are properly watered and given a ten (10) minute rest period for every hour of use, are in good health and at a proper body weight, are not more than fifteen (15) years old, and are properly fitted with harness and tack.
(5) Every horse-drawn carriage business owner shall ensure that emergency veterinary treatment is available for his or her horse.
(6) No horse-drawn carriage business owner or carriage operator shall permit more than four (4) passengers in a horse-drawn carriage at any time.
(n) Every six (6) months, commencing with the date of the application submitted pursuant to division (b) of Section 447.03, a carriage license holder shall submit to the Police Traffic Commissioner a medical certificate for each horse used by the carriage license holder in the operation of horse-drawn carriages. A carriage operator that is exempt under division (c) of Section 447.02 shall submit to the Special Events Committee the same medical certificate for each horse used by the carriage operator. The medical certificate shall be signed by a registered veterinarian and shall indicate that the horse is medically fit, in good health both physically and by temperament, sufficient to pull a horse-drawn carriage, and has received all those inoculations which are determined to be usual and customary according to generally-accepted principles of animal husbandry.
(o) Every horse-drawn carriage owner shall ensure that, whenever his or her horses are upon the public rights-of-way, each of them is fitted with a device which prevents the horse’s feces from dropping to the ground.
(Ord. No. 1474-13. Passed 11-25-13, eff. 11-26-13)