Trolley, party bike dustup fuels safety concern
A pedal-powered party bike had just let off a dozen or so passengers at a South Main restaurant last week when a Main Street Trolley slammed into the rolling tavern.
The party bike business’s owner, Ashley Coleman of Sprock n' Roll Memphis, complained that her driver wasn’t given fair warning by the oncoming trolley.
The accident happened about 4:30 p.m. on the pedestrian Main Street Mall at Gayoso.
An accident report summary said the trolley was southbound on South Main and struck the rear of the southbound-facing party bike. The bike driver was cited for obstructing traffic.
Coleman said her driver didn’t realize he had parked in the trolley’s path. She said the driver was helping retrieve a passenger’s electronic device just before the accident occurred.
“We were dumbfounded,” Coleman said. “I don’t understand why somebody couldn’t bump the brakes, toot the horn.”
“My driver didn’t necessarily think he was in the path of the trolley,” Coleman said. “If the horn had beeped, he’d have been happy to move.”
“At the end of the day, we all want to coexist together,” Coleman added. “We want to be a really fun activity for Downtown. Something like this, it’s not good for our business. This is a ‘Why can’t we all get along?’ type of thing.”
The trolley driver was taken to the Regional Medical Center in non-critical condition and was later released. The accident interrupted trolley service for about 21⁄2 hours, MATA said.
The accident came 13 days after the Main Street Trolley resumed service along Main and the pedestrian mall after a nearly four-year absence. It had been sidelined since June 2014 by safety issues including fires that broke out on two trolleys.
In the days leading up to the trolley’s April 30 return, MATA and Downtown Memphis Commission officials warned pedestrians, motorists and drivers of non-motorized vehicles to be alert to the trolleys and careful not to block the tracks.
MATA officials said the refurbished and new trolleys are noticeably quieter than the trolleys that stopped running in June 2014. They noted people’s habits have changed during the four years, with more pedestrians now wearing earbuds and listening to music.
Coleman started her business three years ago after riding a party bike at a bachelorette party in Nashville. A party bike is a multi-person, pedal-driven vehicle on which riders drink and socialize. Coleman said she added a power assist to her three bikes so drivers can move them faster if necessary.
The group riding just before the collision was a birthday party reservation that had been picked up at Tin Roof on Beale Street.
“We were in the middle of a tour. The driver had stopped and all the passengers had gotten off the bike, as we kind of offer a pub crawl experience,” Coleman said.
Her drivers usually park on the side of the mall to let off passengers, but a group of tourists was taking pictures of a mural in that spot, Coleman said. The driver stopped the bike and let 12 to 16 passengers get off, gather their things and go into Local gastropub. He didn’t see the trolley until it was too late, she said.
“That’s when the trolley came barreling into the bike,” Coleman said. “It clipped our bike. It splintered the roof top. At that point they became entangled, and it drug the bike 20 plus feet.”
Coleman said she’s anxious to get video surveillance camera footage from the trolley, and she questioned being cited for a parking violation when the bike has a permit to be on the mall.
Coleman said the damaged party bike is out of service for the foreseeable future, forcing her to cancel some reservations during a busy season.
Before the trolleys returned, the Downtown commission, which controls the pedestrian mall, said it had advised horse-drawn carriage drivers to steer clear of the trolley tracks, which run down the center of the mall.
After the accident, Downtown commission spokeswoman Penelope Huston said meetings were being planned regarding Main Street Mall use.
"The DMC will be facilitating meetings with the party bikes, carriage operators, and Explore Bike Share to discuss best practices in regards to safety on the Main Street Mall," Huston said.
Reach reporter Wayne Risher at (901) 529-2874 or wayne.risher@commercialappeal.com.