For decades, horse-drawn carriages have been a tradition for New York City. Tourists love them and they have long been in movies too. However, a tradition should never matter more than a person’s life and safety. The heartbreaking death of 18 year old Romanch Mahajan, after a horse randomly bolted in Central Park, shows that this industry is much too old-fashioned and dangerous for the modern world. It is time for New York to leave this phase behind.

Central Park is no longer the peaceful, quiet place it was hundreds of years ago when these carriages first started operating. It is now a lively urban environment. The streets are filled with honking cars, people talking, musicians, huge crowds, and sometimes even gunshots. To horses, which are prey animals, their first instinct is always to run away from what they believe is a threat, which do include loud noises. Expecting a wild animal to behave in the middle of that city chaos is completely unrealistic. When a horse panics, it turns the carriage into a dangerous vehicle that put pedestrians, customers, and even the animal itself at risk.

People who want to keep the carriages often argue that this protects New York Cities tradition and provides important jobs for drivers and stable hands. This is a valid concern; no one wants to see hardworking people losing their jobs. However, we do not need to choose between keeping people’s jobs and keeping people safe. The best solution is a gradual phase out.

Instead of shutting everything down overnight, we should instead give drivers electric vintage styled carriages. The carriages would still look cool and retro for passengers who still want the experience, and the drivers would still be able to keep their income. The only difference would be the fact that they would be driving an electric powered carriage instead of a live animal who can get easily triggered.

Other major American cities, like Chicago, have already banned horse drawn carriages from their busy streets. Their tourism industry is still doing great. Just as I am proposing, Chicago has gotten rid of their carriages but has still kept a good reputation.

Tradition is great, but it must evolve when it begins to hurt people or in this case both people and animals. New York City needs to place a ban and move forward from this antiquated tradition.