Friday, December 12, 2003
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Friday, December 12, 2003 |
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Brown lobbies for change in cart path law By J. FRANK LYNCH Support at the state capitol for allowing unlicensed drivers to once again legally operate golf carts on Peachtree City’s path system is growing, said Mayor Steve Brown last week. Brown plugged a proposal spearheaded by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Sharpsburg, during a Dec. 2 reception for area legislators at Atlanta City hall hosted by the Metro Atlanta Mayor’s Association, or MAMA. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is chairman and Brown is vice-chairman of the group, formed last spring to promote the needs of metro cities to elected officials. “It was a great opportunity for me to lobby for our proposed golf cart legislation for the upcoming session and I received nothing but positive feedback,” said Brown. The legislation proposed by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg) essentially would allow local jurisdiction over whether to let golf carts on paths and designate other parts of the highway system for golf cart crossings. City Attorney Ted Meeker has said the law would create an exception for golf cart usage on state highways, and also gives the city the right to determine what vehicles are allowed on city streets. The City Council endorsed the wording of the proposed ordinance back in October, at which time Councilman Steve Rapson declared that the change in law “basically put Peachtree City back where we were” before a court ruling in a DUI case led to a judge determining that golf carts fell under the same rules as cars. The outcome of that case, often referred to as the Coker case, will not be affected by the rewritten law, said Meeker. The legislation is expected to be introduced in the first few days of the session, which starts Jan. 12. Meanwhile, Brown took advantage of the MAMA gathering to promote some other metro-wide concerns, many of which have a solid Peachtree City influence. They include improved transportation funding, the need of cities to receive point-of-sale data on local sales tax collections, special sales tax options for municipalities, context sensitive transportation design, and the need to conduct safety inspections on rental housing to maintain standards. Many of the state legislators were able to meet some of the metro mayors for the first time, and some favored the idea of creating a legislative caucus for issues pertaining to the Metro Atlanta region, Brown said. MAMA members also met with the new Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl and officers of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to discuss possible ways to resolve some of the obstacles facing metro cities. “We have to be able to plan for the future and look beyond today,” Brown said, concluding, “I am really encouraged by the fact that we have a large number of local mayors who are willing to provide some collective leadership and take some of our problems head-on.”
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