Archive 2008 - 2019

Trails Committee Hears Rail Trail Pedicab Program Proposal

by Matt Ristaino
9/12/2019

A pedicab service could be coming soon to the Holliston rail trail. At Wednesday’s Trails Committee meeting, John Losch proposed the creation of a pedicab service for seniors and people with disabilities who might not otherwise be able to enjoy the trail. 

Losch said that he first came up with the idea after reading a news story about a similar service in Great Britain.

“I posted something about it casually on the [I’m Holliston Happy] Facebook page, and it got a lot of attention,” said Losch. “I’m sure that people who can’t walk or bike on [the trail] would enjoy it.”

John Losch first proposed the idea of a pedicab service on the I'm Holliston Happy Facebook page.

There are a lot of logistics that need to be sorted out before this idea becomes a reality. Losch said that the next step should be to form a committee to develop a plan to acquire the pedicabs, recruit drivers, and handle insurance issues. 

Losch said that ideally all of the drivers would be volunteers, but he did admit that may not be realistic. He also said that his goal would be for the program to use no public money and rely solely on fundraising.  

Ed Daniels, of the Friends of Holliston Trails, said that he was in favor of the idea, and that his group would be willing to help fundraise. 

The Committee seemed to be largely on-board as well. Committee chair Robert Weidknecht said that he was very open to the idea, and that he would even be willing to volunteer as a pedicab driver. Select Board member Tina Hein was in attendance and voiced her initial support for the idea as well.

Committee Chair Robert Weidkneckt said that the rail trail is plenty wide enough to support a pedicab service.

The Committee also recommended looking into other options to make the trail more accessible, such as golf carts. 

“Maybe the pedicab is the best solution, but I’m just throwing ideas out there,” said Committee member Ken Henderson. 

In the end the committee unanimously gave their approval to further explore the idea. The biggest challenge moving forward will be to form a committee dedicated to the proposal. Henderson recommended that Losch line-up a few people who would like to volunteer for the committee before presenting it to the Select Board for approval.

Losch said that because of his age, he would not really be willing to serve on the committee himself, but he would work to find people willing to volunteer. Weidknecht said that he would help connect Losch with the Friends of Holliston Trails to try and find potential committee members.