Dear Ms. Pierce,
It was a blessing to read in your newspaper that our city leaders are considering an ordinance on the use of golf carts on public streets. Despite the current State of Mississippi legal restrictions against golf carts being used on residential streets, the fact is that many very young people are driving the carts with little regard for safety, especially in the Jamestown-Lincoln Road area. This has been going on for at least 25 years, and the frequency of under-age (unlicensed) golf cart drivers has increased.
I can appreciate the desire for people to quickly take a golf cart from point A to point B in a neighborhood, if the driver is licensed, and if the golf cart is licensed. It sounds like our Mayor and City Council have safety as a priority consideration as they explore this topic. In the meantime, I encourage our city leaders and police patrol officers to visit the South 34th Avenue, Jamestown, Innswood, Southaven Drive, Kirkwood, and Lincoln Road areas … any time, any day … to see the golf carts in action on our neighborhood streets.
The Jamestown-Lincoln Road Neighborhood Association has raised this issue many times. We appreciate that the topic is now moving from the “back burner.” We also appreciate Haskel Burns’ excellent summary of the issue in his article.
Sincerely,
Joe Kinnan, Col. (USAF, Ret.)
