Wheel Fun Rentals announced that it will be closed this summer after storms this month and in October caused more than $3 million in damages total.
Rodney Knight, owner and operator of Wheel Fun Rentals, said the city of Duluth will not allow the surreys, or four-wheeled pedal carts which seat two to six people, to operate on the paved path of the Lakewalk until the damage is repaired.
"In talking to the city a couple of weeks back, they had said that it's going to take pretty much all season to repair the Lakewalk from the storms, so they are going to put the walking traffic also onto the bike paths," he said.
Knight said he would still be able to have two-wheeled bicycles on the path but the surreys are 90 percent of his business.
"We would lose money all summer," he said.
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Duluth public information coordinator Pakou Ly said the restrictions were put on the surreys due to limited space with the boardwalk being damaged in the storms.
"Because we are limited down to just one paved trail due to the boardwalk damage, that decreases the amount of space that the surreys can run," Ly said. "Some of the surreys are rather large, they fit up to six people, so if they are on the paved trail there's no space for other users. It's primarily to ensure that we have access for people on foot without having to dodge too many surreys on the trail."
Knight said he hopes to bring the rentals back next summer, but according to Ly, that might not be possible.
Ly said the city was told repairs to the Lakewalk may take up to two construction seasons.
"(Wheel Fun Rentals) have a one-year contract so the contract is not being renewed because we have to focus on the Lakewalk restoration," Ly said. "We will reassess that depending on the progress that we can make on the restoration work, but we have been told to probably expect (two seasons of construction)."
