Rayne Mayor: Little can be done about scooters, mowers on city streets

Motorized wheelchairs/scooters and riding lawnmowers on city streets are nuisances to drivers, but, at present, there’s little that can be done to curb it.
Citing the recent accident in which a man in a motorized wheelchair was hit by a motor vehicle while crossing The Boulevard and the April crash which claimed two lives when a motor vehicle ran into the back of a riding lawnmower being driven on a city street, City Councilman Kenneth Guidry said he’d like to ban those vehicles from the roadways.
“Is there any way we can pass an ordinance to stop these scooters and lawnmowers from driving on the streets,” he asked during the July council meeting.
But Mayor Charles “Chuck” Robichaux explained that such action would have legal and practical consequences for the city.
Concerning the wheelchairs and scooters, “we’re dealing with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) here and, unfortunately, we would have to repair every sidewalk in the community — width, elevation, ramps, everything,” Robichaux said. “We’re just not in a financial position to do that right now, I don’t know of many municipalities that are.”
Banning riding lawnmowers from the streets would seriously hamper city services, according to the mayor.
“The city now cuts the rights-of-way along our streets with lawnmowers. If we were to ban lawnmowers from the roads, we’d have to trailer our mowers to move from lot to lot to continue this service,” he explained.
“One good thing,” Robichaux added, “is that there is a state law against using any of them on state highways. In addition, we can stop them for not following normal traffic laws.”
Some streets within the city limits that are state highways include Adams Avenue/The Boulevard, East Texas Avenue, East Jeff Davis and West Branche Street.
Larry Richard, city attorney, was instructed to research possible ways to curb the use of the motorized wheelchairs/scooters and lawnmowers on public roads and report back to the council.
In other business during the July 11 meeting, the council:
•-adopted a Resolution of Termination for Cecil D. Gassiott, LLC, contractor, pertaining to the substantial completion of the contract for the “Carver Street Pump Station Improvements” project;
•-reappointed Ben Boudreaux to a five-year term as a member of the Rayne Municipal Employee Civil Service Board effective Aug. 1;
•-reappointed Lee Hebert to a five-year term as a member of the Rayne Housing Authority board effective July 31;
•-approved a request by the A&O 21st Century Club to conduct a street drive July 22 (4 to 7 p.m.) and July 23 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) to collect donations for the club’s annual “Back-to-School” project;
•-approved a request by Police Chief Carroll J. Stelly to reinstate Lance Arsement as a full-time police officer; and
•-approved the following recommendations from Building Inspector Mark Daigle:
--90 days to demolish the structure at 510 N. Bradford St.;
--90 days to complete demolition of the structure at 905 Holt St.;
--90 days to demolish the structure at 606 Live Oak St.; and
--90 days to complete demolition of the structure at 907 Bailey St.