Tuesday could be decision day for Augusta city lawmakers. That is the day one group of citizens will make its case for commissioners to ban basketball hoops on city streets and cul-de-sacs.
Playing basketball can be fun, but some members of the Hillwood Neighborhood Association say that fun shouldn’t be happening at such a high risk.
15-year-old Jayden Wells is working on being a household name when he leaves the Garden City.
“I’m trying to be the next Derrick Rose,” Wells said.
But as he bounces the basketball with others from his neighborhood, he does it in a safe environment. Wells and his 14-year-old brother Waylon have a portable basketball goal at their home, much like the one the Hillwood Neighborhood Association is trying to have removed from Hillwood Circle and other Augusta streets and cul-de-sacs due to safety.
“I almost got hit one time because I wasn’t paying attention and a car was coming. It’s way more safer down here,” Waylon Wells said.
The brothers enjoy playing at Big Oak Park near the Hillwood Neighborhood off Wheeler Road, but they said sometimes their goal in the street at home is best.
Waylon Wells added, “I like practicing on my own time. Down here, it’s always a community thing so everyone is going to be playing all the time.”
Jayden likes working on his basketball skills alone too. Sometimes he even goes to the Boys & Girls Club of the CSRA. But there is a benefit to playing at the park; the ability to shoot hoops with others. Jayden said he’s hoping the park can actually be safer.
“I think we need a fence so nobody gets hurt when the ball runs out in the street,” he said.