NORTHSIDERS could soon have a new way to experience what Lakeland Drive has to offer.

Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham is planning to create what he calls a “Lakeland Loop,” a short bus route that would exclusively serve visitors and businesses along the Lakeland corridor.

Although there are still several questions left to be answered, Graham said the route could boost business and increase tourism along the heavily traveled thoroughfare. In addition, he believes it could reduce traffic and offer residents a more pleasant experience when they visit it.

Graham hopes to have the loop up and running by summer and plans to meet with local business owners to hammer out details. “People will be able to park their car, and for a small fee, will be able to ride wherever they want on Lakeland,” he said. “It will save people a lot of time and hassle.”

He envisions a short route that would highlight all of the popular spots on Lakeland like the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Agricultural and Forestry Museum, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Smith-Wills Stadium, the North Jackson ball fields and Jamie Fowler Boyll Park.

The route would also stop at the area’s top restaurants and make its way into Fondren. Graham said the project wouldn’t cost taxpayers a thing and funds raised could beautify the area.

Graham said it would be ideal for families looking for a place to eat after visiting a museum or waiting for a youth baseball game to begin. “If they don’t have anything to do, they could leave their car parked at the ball fields and go get lunch without having to drive in Lakeland traffic,” he said.

BROOKS BUCHANAN, vice-president of the North Jackson Youth Baseball Association, doesn’t know if parents would use the loop, but believes it would be a popular draw for tourists. “So many people are used to driving their car and things just aren’t that far away (to use mass transit),” he said.

“A team usually arrives an hour or so before a game begins,” he said. “Families are only there a short period of time. They might have better luck with tourists.”

Charles Richardson, executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation, wants to find out more about Graham’s idea. “I think it would be great if it’s utilized properly,” he said.

While interested in finding out more, Richardson is concerned that implementing a new service would negatively affect the Fondren Express, a struggling trolley that runs a 4.5-mile route in Fondren with stops at St. Dominic’s Hospital and University of Mississippi Medical Center.

He hopes Graham will consider partnering with trolley owner Alan French and Ron Mills, the trolley’s operator, to increase its use, rather than competing with it for riders.

In a previous interview, Mills said the express has been successfully used for charter events, but the trolley still hasn’t caught on with many potential riders. Many others, he said, simply don’t know they can ride it. “On an average day, a dozen or two-dozen people ride the trolley,” he said.

He said they’re still working to overcome the area’s car culture. “We are serving a population that’s not used to climbing into a vehicle that they don’t have control over,” Mills said.

French said once all the kinks are worked out of the first trolley, another one will likely be started. He said in a previous interview that he’s already purchased another one for use.

Graham said he would consider partnering with the Fondren Express, but said he is also considering other mass transit services as well. At the time of publication, Graham hadn’t contacted French.

Loops, though, have been successful in other areas, including New Orleans and Destin, Fla. “We’ll have to see if it works,” he said. “If it doesn’t, we’ll try something else. I think it will be a big boost for the area and will generate new enthusiasm for it.”