Demopolis to look into scooters and parking along Strawberry Street

The Demopolis City Council asked Public Safety Director Rex Flowers to research ordinances concerning electric scooters.

City Councilman Jim Stanford said that youngsters are zipping around town on the scooters, which he said are faster than a golf cart. Kids aren’t wearing helmets, and they aren’t slowing down for stop signs, he said.

Demopolis Mayor Woody Collins asked Flowers to see what laws other cities have put on the books regarding scooters. “We need to get on the forefront” of the issue, Collins said.

Flowers will also look into what to do about parking along Strawberry Street, including making it a one-way street. Flowers told the city council that there is no place to park on the west side of the street, and there are sometimes more parked cars than the street can handle. When residents or visitors park on the street, the road is squeezed down to one lane.

The public safety committee will meet with Flowers and come back to the council with a recommendation.

Collins said the council will discuss replacing Harris Hurst on the Demopolis School Board at their next meeting. Hurst resigned earlier in the week.    

The city council approved rezoning a second lot on the property near East Franklin Industrial from I-2 Heavy Industrial to R-3 Two-Family Residential. The property has been owned by a family since the 1920s, and no one could explain why the property was zoned for industrial use in the past.