wants to provide rides
from both the Pennington
and Liberty Street parking
lots to eating and drink-
ing establishments in the
downtown, according to
Renee LaFollette, director
of the Capital Projects and
Public Works Department.
Any change to the Zoning
Ordinance would require
that the streets where golf
carts would be allowed to
travel be explicitly listed.
While a majority of the
council voiced support
for initiating an ordinance
change Tuesday night,
after this paper’s dead-
line, some, including Vice
Mayor Suzanne Fox, urged
more public and business
outreach and input on the
subject. Fox said that the
Cartwheels service could
be a part of the solution
for the parking problem
that plagues downtown, by
offering downtown visitors
an opportunity to park a
bit outside the more high-
ly-trafficked areas of the
downtown but with safe
pick-ups and drop-offs.
Mayor Kelly Burk agreed,
and pointed to other cities
and towns throughout the
nation which already have
similar successful business
models in place.
“I think this would be a lost
opportunity if we decide
this is something we didn’t
want to do,” she said.
Councilman Tom Dunn,
however, said he was not
supportive of the idea.
“There’s an issue of being
business friendly and an
issue of being friendly to
businesses that are friendly
to us,” he said, explain-
ing that allowing golf cart
operations on downtown
streets could exacerbate an
already big problem down-
town—traffic congestion.
Even if the council supports
the ordinance initiation
tonight, it would be far
from a done deal. Public
hearings before both the
Planning Commission and
Town Council would need
to be scheduled, with the
matter coming back to the
council for a final vote.
Contact
Cartwheels
Leesburg, VA
www.cartwheelsva.net
NOVEMBER 2018
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