On Monday we posted a video from one of our followers of a golf cart riding on the sidewalk on Fort Myers Beach, something that happens on a regular basis. The person driving the cart saw the post and defended the ride. Here’s what she said…
Carissa Crebs saw the post on our Facebook page and took responsibility. Here’s what she had to say. “You want to keep the beach small town life right? That’s me, picking up my daughter from Bay Oaks. We drive everyday on the cart to pick her up, Red Coconut to Bay Road. We live down the street. Our golf cart is completely legal to drive on the road. We ride the sidewalk for 50 feet to go 10 mph, to enjoy life. We pull over when/if there are pedestrians or bikes. We ride bikes to and from work everyday. It doesn’t go fast enough to require plates. But is still legal to ride on the road. We do it for courtesy of people driving, and for safety. I pedal faster than it can go. I can’t even understand that this is an issue.”
It’s an issue because section 28-83 of the town of Fort Myers Beach code prohibits “any vehicle other than by human power upon any public sidewalk.”
While Carissa may be a very responsible golf cart driver, looking out for pedestrians and pulling over when needed, we have also seen videos of others who are not. Where do you draw the line? How can you tell who’s the responsible driver and who is not?
These things have always come down to enforcement. Who’s going to enforce the town’s rules and regulations. Estero Boulevard, and the new sidewalks on the Boulevard, are owned by Lee County. That would put enforcement in the hands of the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. LCSO has told the town’s Public Safety Committee and Town Council on more than one occasion they are not going to write tickets, they take more of an educational approach.
Several elected officials and public safety committee members have been calling for tickets to be written so it feels like the town’s rules have a little bit of bite. Right now, many of the rules are nothing more than words on paper. Code Enforcement has no authority to issue any violations on county property.
There are some who believe that if the town council would have approved Community Policing in its budget last year these types of infractions would get more attention. Community Policing was rejected by a 3-2 vote by the current council with Dan Allers and Jim Atterholt voting in favor. Three out of the four candidates running for town council this November have said they are for Community Policing; John King, Patrick Romcoe and Karen Woodson.
Comments are closed.