Large cities such as San Antonio and Philadelphia are debating whether to ban horse-drawn carriages, and those discussions have reached Dallas City Hall.
If you live or work in the downtown Dallas area, you’ve probably seen horse-drawn carriages cruising the streets, carrying couples or groups of tourists. But the industry is not booming. In the city, North Star Carriage is the only licensed operator with five carriage permits, and has been the only one for many years.
A City Council committee recently recommended that Dallas ban horse-drawn carriages, and if the full Dallas City Council is going to move forward with the ban, they should do so carefully and without trampling on small businesses in the process.
Horse-drawn carriage rides may be quaint and charming, but they’re a relic of the past that we could do without.Some city council members and residents worry about the safety and well-being of the horses, while North Star Carriage claims they are being mistreated.
Passing regulations that crush a small business without evidence of bad behavior seems too heavy-handed. If the city is going to ban horse-drawn carriages, they should find a way to allow North Star Carriages to continue operating under an exception.
Some of the opposition to horse-drawn carriages in Dallas seems exaggerated, and it is questionable whether allowing five carriages contributes significantly to the congestion on Dallas roads.
Sure, horses can be unpredictable at times, but any Dallas driver knows humans can be unpredictable as well, and we agree with City Councilman Paul Ridley’s assessment that this is not a major traffic problem.
Either way, accidents involving horse-drawn carriages appear to be extremely rare. City Councilman Adam Bazaldua cited several examples from his research over the past decade, including two in Highland Park, The Post reported. City officials said in December that they had no record of any accidents involving North Star carriages.
Opinion is divided, with some claiming the practice is cruel. The Post spoke to three horse experts who said carriage horses can be kept healthy and treated humanely.
Dallas’ tourism industry would likely survive just fine if horse-drawn carriages were banned and rode off into the sunset, but if there’s no evidence that North Star Carriage is violating health and safety regulations, it should be allowed to stay open.
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