Lubbock City Council OKs Golf Cart Deliveries During 2015 Holiday Season

Roving squads of UPS golf carts will be delivering packages this holiday season from storage pods placed throughout Lubbock neighborhoods after the Lubbock City Council passed a new ordinance November 5.

In what councilmembers Jeff Griffith and Victor Hernandez call a “pilot program” the United Parcel Service will utilize a small fleet of golf carts to deliver gifts from pods they intend on placing on school or church grounds rather than using box-trucks.

The ordinance passed 5-1 with Mayor Glen Robertson absent and Council Woman Latrelle Joy as the lone dissenter. Joy brought up a number of oppositions including safety concerns and the fact that the council was asked to pass an ordinance so UPS was not violating state law for operating golf carts as something other than transportation to, from or on a golf course. She said approving business plans should not “trump public safety.”

A major concern of Joy’s was whether the Lubbock Police Department would be able to enforce the usage of the carts. Council Man Floyd Price, who served with both the Lubbock Police Department and Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office said he believed the carts would be used in a safe manner, but couldn’t speak about the police department’s ability to enforce legal usage of the carts.

UPS will begin implementing their plan as the holiday season begins and will end golf cart delivery after the holiday season. Council members agreed to bring up the ordinance in a year’s time to reevaluate the safety and effectiveness of the plan.