September 4
Finishing up the golf cart discussion. Mary in her meeting "notes" reflects "so the issue is dead unless someone brings it up again"...life after death? She accurately described the discussion concerning the carts to have gone 40 minutes, at least nobody can say they didn't get the time to present their case.
John Bugg and the Whites appeared again to reprise their request for an ordinance to allow golf carts. Both pointed to the hazards presented by walkers, runners and bicyclists on the roadways. Tony mentioned data from the NTSB that indicated relatively few fatalities versus pedestrians and/or bicyclists. On the other hand I mentioned data from The Journal of Trauma that indicated there are about 48,000 injuries a year involving golf carts, about half of them happening outside of golf courses, including public streets and roadways. The concern of golf carts on East Side Drive came up a number of times, including the Chief of Police, observing the rate of speed of motor vehicles was difficult to maintain at 25 MPH, mentioning that up to 35 MPH wasn't unusual. No passing zones, speed, hills, curves all present hazards if carts were allowed on the roads
Pat White concluded with the comment that they would abide by whatever decision the Board made, quelling any concerns of an anarchist uprising should the Board vote no.
The only new face in favor of carts was resident Charlie Riga. He is a golf cart owner, and says he takes his granddaughter 2 blocks to the bus stop during school, has done this for the last two years (at this point the City Attorney seemed to shift a bit in his chair). Although the Police seem to be aware of this, they have elected to be selective about enforcement, not wanting to be "hardnosed" about the issue (okay, before you go ballistic, let's reserve another post for "discretion" of a police officer). It was about this time the question was asked on who requested the ordinance in the first place...good question. Pat White mentioned maybe leave well enough alone was the best policy, especially if enforcement was going to be lax. I pointed out that would work until someone filed a complaint, then the Police would be forced to act. Oh well.
Turns out Mr Bugg's ATV would not be governed by the "golf cart law", but is covered by a different statute which requires safety equipment etc, and does not allow cities to vary like golf carts, this was pointed out by the City Attorney.
When you are in a hole, stop digging. After the straw poll vote was taken, the Mayor had to have the last word. Observing the issue was like "Pandora's Box", he reflected the BOA could get mired in describing "what is a seat" (on a golf cart), referring to how many legal passengers could be on a cart and rationalizing why the issue should be left alone. Combined with an earlier reference he made concerning reckless driving and its definition, (he compared it to pornography, "you know it when you see it") it was a fitting end to a rather bizarre excursion into the legislative process at WL that stretched over three months. I guess it could have been worse.
3 comments:
Heaven forbid the BOA allows a "do over". There is no interest by most folks in having golf carts on the streets. Buy a Chevy Volt if you want something small and electric.
Glad that the golf cart fiasco is over. How about the BOA pay more attention to our roads, which seem to be falling apart in many parts of the city, now that is a problem.
Why not pay attention to important things lawmakers could be doing like "patriot fries"
No wonder we got the mess we got
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