Warm weather is here, which neighbors say means golf carts on the road in Blossomwood.
“I just see kids everywhere riding golf carts,” said Clate Bankowski, a lifeguard at the Blossomwood pool. “Just, I guess a way of transport when you don’t have a car.”
On a sunny day, residents say it’s not uncommon to see three or four coming and going and parked in the parking lot of the pool.
A couple of residents declined to talk on camera, but said they are concerned about the safety of those driving golf carts in the neighborhood and that it’s also illegal. It’s against the law in Alabama to use golf carts on roadways, and it can land you a ticket if you’re caught driving one on roads.
“These are not considered motor vehicles in the eyes of state traffic code,” said Lt. Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the Huntsville Police Department. “There are a lot of differences — no seatbelts, no lights.”
Johnson says teens driving golf carts on roads is something they see often this time of year.
When I asked some residents about golf carts, they mentioned another issue they’re seeing.
“I don’t think golf carts is the issue,” said Shannon Jones. “It’s that everyone around here for some reason likes to drive really fast.”
“If there’s a safety issue at all it would be maybe monitoring this area more for speeders,” said Jim Burns. “I would actually like to see cameras that send you speeding tickets.”
One thing residents had in common on the topic is that they want those on the road to be safe.
“What we would need here is for the HOA and for parents to keep the keys secured and not allow the teens to ride them through the neighborhoods,” said Lt. Johnson.