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Health & Fitness

Catalina Island, Coronado, La Mesa Village!

Could La Mesa become known as that "charming town with all those golf carts!"

One of the most delightful sights on Catalina Island is the proliferation of golf carts zipping all over Avalon, Catalina’s main town. Full-sized cars are restricted, so just about everyone owns a golf cart; it is a major means of transportation. 

People get very creative with their golf carts. I’ve seen camouflage, hot pink, purple and turquoise golf carts crowned by tassel fringe and even palapa thatch tops.

Coronado is another town where golf carts can be seen whizzing down Orange Avenue, or parked in front of parks and boutiques or filled with kids going to school.

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Golf carts look and feel resort-y and they’re fun. You’d be hard pressed to find a scowling driver or road rage from someone behind the wheel of a golf cart. They’re safe, you can’t get a speeding ticket and you never hear about golf cart accidents. And if you do, they’re funny.

I purchased a street-legal, crimson colored golf cart back in 2007. When I first drove it around La Mesa Village, people stopped and stared like I was riding a zebra. I’d get all kinds of friendly honks and waves and excited kids pointing at it as I drove past.

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For awhile, I was the only golf cart driving on the streets of downtown La Mesa. Now, I recognize about a half dozen other golf cart drivers, we always toot and nod at each other. 

La Mesa Village is one of the few places in San Diego County where a golf cart could be someone’s main source of transportation!

In one square mile we have two grocery stores, a drug store, a public library, churches, a post office, city hall, police station, fire station, thrift shops, antique dealers, art galleries, several dry cleaners, multiple restaurants and boutiques, coffee shops, a hardware store, jewelry stores, cafes, fitness gyms, health & beauty spas, beauty salons, dentists, gift shops, social security office, banks, insurance offices, accountants, shoe repair, book store, knife sharpening, travel agencies, flower shops, optometrists, etc.

Picture dozens of cheerful golf carts tooling around historic La Mesa! They would add to our city’s charm, please environmentalists, give La Mesa a prosperous distinction in the county, attract visitors, boost our image ("You're that charming little town that has all those golf carts driving around!").

Ultimately, this kind of character and personality would attract more home buyers and businesses and increase our city's revenue.

The City of La Mesa could increase the number of golf cart drivers in our town a number of ways: 

1)  Declare La Mesa a “Golf-Cart Friendly Town” and give this proclamation some teeth.

2)  Allow golf carts to park free at meters (I have my own paid for space downtown so I’m not looking for freebies!). The City of San Diego allows Cars2Go to park free at meters and you see those cute blue and white electric cars everywhere.

3)  In next year’s Flag Day Parade, include a convoy of golf carts. They'd be a crowd pleasing, colorful addition. We could ask Brian Malarkey, owner of La Mesa's Gingham, to ride in his custom black, six-seater street golf cart.

I spoke with Mike Matheny, the owner of Sundance Golf Cars located on Commercial Street off Center Drive in La Mesa, about my idea for putting more golf carts in the Village.

To help make this a reality, he said he’d give any La Mesa resident purchasing a street-legal golf car 10% off the total price! Please mention this blog.

The base price of a golf cart is $2395. Add a lights package (brake lights, turn signal, running lights, horn), seat belts and mirror, windshield and DMV fees and the total cost is about $3500.

Maintaining a street legal golf cart is extremely low cost. In the five years I’ve been driving my golf cart every day, I have spent not one penny on gas or oil, I just plug it into a regular outlet in my garage. It’s never been in the shop for repairs. I’ve replaced my batteries once and bought tires. I’ve spent less than $1000 on my golf cart since 2007.

By using the golf cart for daily errands and saving the car for long trips, I save money on gas and oil, increase the life of my car and decrease auto maintenance costs.

I'm running for City Council on a Making La Mesa Robust platform. A Robust La Mesa, to me, is a strong, vital, energetic, successful town that other towns wish they could be!

Ideas, like this golf cart one, are intended to take what we already have - a charming, historic downtown in this case - and bring it to the next level.

Please email me at Laura@LaMesaLaura.com with your ideas for a better La Mesa.

 

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