Mayor signs order to curb caravanning

Officials fed up with traffic troubles; Little Rock edict also covers drag racing

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has signed an executive order on caravanning and drag racing as part of a renewed effort to address disruptive vehicular traffic in the city.

Scott’s order, signed Tuesday, amended an earlier emergency declaration signed Aug. 21 related to the covid-19 pandemic.

Incidents where large groups of vehicles travel together or congregate in parking lots to watch drivers perform doughnuts or burnouts, sometimes resulting in property damage or gunfire, have cropped up repeatedly for months, and elected city directors have registered concerns.

Scott said during the Little Rock Board of Directors meeting Tuesday evening that officials were successful at tamping down on caravanning and racing this summer, but he referred to recent instances of street racing that occurred at the Port of Little Rock as well as the Cantrell Road area.

The order will be in effect to the fullest extent of the law to stamp out those caravanning issues, Scott said.

The amendment to the earlier covid-19 emergency declaration prohibits groups of five or more vehicles from traveling together in order for drivers to exit the vehicles “for recreational purposes,” or for purposes other than employment, medical visits, grocery shopping and orderly funeral processions.

The order by the mayor also prohibits drag racing.

The text of the order allows the city to maintain parking lots and other paved or unpaved surfaces that belong to private businesses as “public highways,” as defined in a state law prohibiting drag racing or observing drag racing, if the property owner posts signage saying access is forbidden outside of business hours, provides written notice to the Police Department that the signage is in place, and confirms in writing that the city can use its authority to prevent unsafe driving actions after business hours.

Under the state law prohibiting drag racing, racing on a road owned by a public entity or municipality is a Class A misdemeanor, and observing a drag race is a Class B misdemeanor.

In early April, Scott issued an executive order banning caravans of five or more vehicles. However, unlike the order issued Tuesday, the mayor’s previous order did not address street racing.

City Manager Bruce Moore on Tuesday met with Police Chief Keith Humphrey and Assistant Chiefs Wayne Bewley and Crystal YoungHaskins to discuss the issue, and police leaders were putting together a plan to create a permanent team in place to focus on caravanning in “hotspot areas,” Moore told city directors during the board meeting.

Scott’s order cites the need for social distancing during the pandemic, plus the increased incidents of caravanning and drag racing.

“[M]alicious mischief” in the parking lots of closed businesses “not only attract people, but also distract emergency service workers from various priorities in order to address these issues,” the order says.

Scott told city directors that the executive order is intended “to take care of the issue in the short term” while City Attorney Tom Carpenter prepares an ordinance to take before the board to “kind of give us some extra cover.”

According to Scott, police issued “hundreds” of citations and vehicles were impounded during the initial push to curtail caravanning over the summer.

During one incident in July, Little Rock police responded to reported gunfire at an Academy Sports & Outdoor store on West Markham Street in relation to a caravanning incident where a man was shot in the shoulder.

At-large City Director Dean Kumpuris asked for a weekly report to be generated showing the number of complaints and the response that was provided.

“People are really upset that there’s no response with what’s going on and don’t know if there’s a response,” Kumpuris said.

Earlier in the meeting, Kumpuris had told directors that his wife was tired of him driving down to Riverfront Park to see why people are speeding.

“I’d like to not go down to Riverfront Drive every Sunday, because my wife’s going to divorce me if I keep doing [it],” he said. “She’s worried about me and my safety going down there, and it’s pretty crazy.”

“I’d like to not go down to Riverfront Drive every Sunday, because my wife’s going to divorce me if I keep doing [it].” — Dean Kumpuris, city director