Gated streets are back before city leaders, as another Jackson neighborhood seeks the feeling of security - both in its property and its value.

Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell has proposed an ordinance to ease the policy on gates. But his proposal faces a difficult test in a city that is still proud of its role in the 1960s fight for civil rights and sensitive to the perception of social divide.

The city has not looked favorably on requests to gate communities in the past, and Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said last week he has not changed his position.

But Whitwell, saying crime in his ward is up 35 percent over last year, believes now is the time.

"We're going to continue to see flight out of the city," Whitwell predicted, if Jackson continues to deny gate requests.

Residents are "sick and tired of waking up and finding their cars missing, going on business trips and getting calls from wives saying someone is trying to get in the house," he said.

"They do not feel safe, and it is affecting our tax base."
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