Is there a golf cart in your future?

Golf carts are in the future of Eunice streets if the Rev. Lloyd Antoine has anything to say about it.
Antoine, a Faris Street resident, says he has used his electric golf cart and finds the machine is way to reconnect to neighbors.
Unlike a closed vehicle, the golf cart is an open-air vehicle.
“When you pass and see somebody you can stop and talk,” he said.
Antoine, pastor of the St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church in Vidrine and a golfer, said the carts are “friendly.”
Last month, Antoine asked the Eunice Board of Aldermen to consider an ordinance on golf cart use on community streets.
Antoine was asked at the June 9 city meeting to consult with aldermen, the police and city attorney on an ordinance governing golf cart use on city streets.
Antoine said a Youngsville ordinance requires golf carts to have turn signal lights and brake lights. Carts, which can travel at speeds up to about 30 mph, are restricted to streets with a 25 mph speed limit or less, he said.
The carts cannot be operated on public streets after dark, he said.
The golf carts must be operated during the day by a licensed driver and have liability insurance.
Antoine said Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot has suggested an annual safety inspection conducted by police on golf carts.
“I think it is something we can probably look at,” Fontenot said a council meeting. “I certainly want to look at all the details and try it. We need to sit down with the council and city attorney and work out the details on how the permits would work and what would be required for golf carts and, of course you, would have some designated streets you would need to take a look at.”
Also speaking at the June board meeting, Vernon McManus, city attorney, said there would be a liability risk for the city if golf carts are allowed.
Golf cart use on city streets presents serious issues for the council to discuss.
Jack Burson, alderman at large and a lawyer, said the golf cart request is similar to one with skate boards.
“We banned skating in the historic district downtown,” he said.
However, the downtown skateboard ban “is the most violated law we have in town from what I’ve seen,” he said.
Burson said he has encountered golf carts during heavy traffic.
“I think for public safety reasons that it might be a good idea to look at the situation and see what kind of rules would be helpful to us in that respect,” he said.
“I think it would be a hazard and it is a hazard to the people on them most of all,” Burson said of golf carts. “But I don’t think it would be out of line to study and come back with something that makes sense for us.”
Antoine said having an ordinance is safer than letting golf carts roam.
“There are some being used right now,” he said.
“Everything has its good and has its negative,” he said. “But it has more good to it than it has negative.”
Golf carts are like anything, “you have to be safety conscious on what you do,” he said.
Antoine says golf carts are safer than bicycles and wheelchair-sized electric scooters.
Antoine said a primary safety factor for all vehicles is the care an operator takes being safe.
Antoine does not anticipate Eunice streets will be clogged by golf carts, but he does see them as a way for people to slow down and reconnect with their neighbors.