Goshen latest to join “wild, wild Midwest” of street-legal golf carts\
In the sequel to the classic sci-fi film Back to the Future, protagonist Marty McFly travels from 1985 to 2015. The film encapsulates 1985’s vision of futuristic transportation through hoverboards, fusion energy reactors, and flying vehicles. We didn’t quite hit that mark in 2015 . . . but the image of the future of transportation in 2024 remains similar, if not slightly more ambitious: zero emissions, autonomous vehicles, cybertrucks, and so on.
Enter: the humble golf cart.
In 2015, researchers at Harvard Business School envisioned what the future of our roads may look like. They examined Tesla’s electric vehicles and other EVs to determine which innovations could truly disrupt our transportation paradigm. Their conclusion on what had the most potential was not a Tesla vehicle, but a “neighborhood electric vehicle,” like a “souped-up golf cart.”
The City of Goshen seems to agree. The Goshen Common Council recently approved an ordinance that goes into effect in November 2024 authorizing street-legal golf carts. City officials hope the November timeframe is long enough for citizens to learn the new rules, Jordan Fouts of the Elkhart Truth reports.
Councilmember Brett Weddell (R) worries that the new ordinance will “take a lot of education to the public because when they hear about, ‘Oh, we can have golf carts,’ we’re going to have a lot of golf carts out there that don’t meet the standards. A lot. I’m sure that once everyone hears ‘Oh, golf carts,’ it’s going to be the wild, wild west for a while.”
Indiana Snowmobilers Association President Deak Thorton extended his support during the meeting, acknowledging the riskiness of the ordinance “because it’s a first-time thing in the city … if there are problems – which, there could be – contact us.” Thorton extends his services in enforcing the rules to “create a more positive effect on ATVers in this city.”
Golf carts are already a done deal in nearby cities South Bend and Mishawaka, just in the next county, so Goshen’s regulations adhere to those standards. Carts are limited to streets with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less. They are specifically banned from major highways including portions of S.R. 119 and U.S. 33. Individuals under the age of 16 or who do not have a driver’s license cannot drive golf carts.
Even then, to legally operate a personal golf cart on the streets, one must pass a city inspection and obtain a city permit. Despite the regulations, Weddell admits to concerns about safety. “That’s why we included a lot of equipment that you’re not going to find on a standard golf cart … like rearview mirrors, headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals, and seat belts,” he states.
The council member fears nightmare scenarios in which a “bunch of irresponsible teenagers are tooling around the city” and a golf cart full of kids ends up in front of a motorist going full speed, deeming that possibility “a big concern.”
Pedestrians vs. Motorists vs. LSVs
Recalling the most recent disruptive, low-speed vehicle uprising in Indianapolis is perhaps prudent (but hopefully not prescient). “Shared mobility” electric scooters (courtesy of Lime and Bird) descended on Indy and other Hoosier municipalities circa 2018.
Though perhaps not as prominent as they were a few years ago, many (most?) scooter riders today use the sidewalks or other similar pathways when riding them, despite a city law that bans their use on sidewalks and pedestrian trails. So, it’s safe to say the rules stating scooters belong on city streets or bike lanes are generally ignored en masse. There is a reason for this – scooter riders hardly feel safe speeding down the roadway next to a semi-truck and a Honda Civic. Another city-wide mandate in Indianapolis states that scooters cannot be parked in a “location that impedes the public right-of-way” and should not block “bus stops, curb ramps, driveways, entrances, or accessible parking zones.” How often have you stumbled upon a scooter strewn horizontally across the sidewalk? And what about the use of helmets on scooters?
Considering how similar in nature street-legal scooters can be to golf carts, one may wonder how much drivers would follow the rules outlined in ordinances, especially if the use of golf carts continues to spread. Traditional vehicle drivers may not always be inclined to share the roadways with carts, either . . . and golf carts may simply not be readily visible to large SUVs and trucks that tower over them.
Consider golf cart integration in the broader context of Indianapolis’ new Vision Zero ordinance. As pedestrian deaths skyrocket, the Indianapolis City-County Council recently approved a goal of zero pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities by 2035. The first step is assembling a 15-person task force that’ll create a Vision Zero Action Plan.
Hoosier cities and counties besides Indy have followed suit, indicating others may not be far behind. Monroe County’s Bloomington recently pledged to eliminate pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities by 2039, drawing from the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program. As Indiana moves towards a zero-tolerance goal for pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, the lack of adherence to laws intended to keep scooter riders, pedestrians, and traditional motorists safe could signify a sharp learning curve for golf cart road (and path) etiquette.
Is a Golf Cart an ORV?
One could assume that street-legal golf carts and off-road vehicles (ORVs), in general, may result in additional safety concerns for pedestrians even if the rules are followed, but the Indiana Triennial Highway Safety Plan shows that seven major counties account for 55% of pedestrian and cyclist crashes. Those are Allen County, Hamilton County, Lake County, Marion County, Monroe County, St. Joseph County, and Tippecanoe County. Most counties on the list do not allow ORV usage. The only ones that do are Allen County (which also allows snowmobiles) and Hamilton County. Does legalizing ORVs force more intentional traffic patterns or create wary motorists? Either way, the data suggests that ORV legality doesn’t play a large role in worsening the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.
That doesn’t mean the same standard fully translates to golf carts.
Golf carts are very similar to ORVs, but they aren’t quite defined the same in the law. This excludes them from many ORV ordinances. For example, Michigan’s Tuscola County amended an ORV ordinance to specify that golf carts are not included. In Indiana, when Westfield approved an ordinance in 2018 allowing golf carts on city roadways, its specific definition of a golf cart was “an electric or gas vehicle that was originally designed and manufactured for operation on a golf course for sporting or recreational purposes and is not capable of exceeding speeds of 45 miles per hour and does not include ATVs or utility vehicles, Segways, scooters, modified golf carts or any other motorized vehicle.”
There you have it, folks: golf carts may not, lawfully, be ORVs in some communities.
Who’s On Board?
The sheer prevalence of golf cart legalizations over recent years could potentially force local lawmakers to consider them independently when crafting ordinances. More and more Hoosier counties and cities view golf carts as street vehicles – Porter County, Tippecanoe County, Johnson County, Jefferson County, Valparaiso County, Jasper County, Starke County, and Vanderburgh County, to name some, all allow golf carts on streets county-wide, or are home to municipalities that allow them. That litany doesn’t include municipalities that allow golf carts on neighborhood streets, such as Carmel, Noblesville, and Fishers in Hamilton County.
The Speedway Town Council recently created a Golf Cart Ordinance Exploratory Committee, which will provide suggestions and recommendations to the town council regarding the potential ordinance. Council President Jason DeLisle (R) states that “many towns and communities allow their citizens to use golf carts to get around their neighborhoods … allowing for such movement in our town may benefit Speedway. We believe this consideration process should include resident ownership in the form of an exploratory committee.” DeLisle stressed that there are no concrete plans or formal timeline just yet – Speedway is just examining the possibility.
Alternatively, it’s a hard no for Huntington. At this month’s Huntington City Common Council meeting, members voted down a proposed golf cart ordinance for the city (which, ironically, was nicknamed the Lime City long before the scooter company came along).
The Huntington ordinance had been tabled at a past meeting for an amendment to limit the streets on which people could drive golf carts. Councilmembers Dave Funk (R) and PJ Felton (R) clarified that the amendment banned golf carts from U.S. 24 and removed side-by-side utility carts. They then offered to bring the ordinance back yearly for council evaluation, the Huntington Herald-Press reports. Even with those concessions, no cigar – Funk and Felton were the only members on the seven-person council who voted in favor of the ordinance. Councilmember Charlie Chaplain (R) did move to table it once more to “pilot permission in specific subdivisions or homeowner associations” . . . but the motion was made after the vote was already finalized.
So, what was Huntington’s problem?
The debate centered on citizens attempting to drive golf carts on city trails and streets that are not wide enough to accommodate them and the legal age to drive a cart, according to the Herald-Press. Due to the level of discretion needed to safely operate a golf cart on the road, attendees suggested raising the legal age to 18 instead of 16, which falls in line with Roanoke’s golf cart ordinance. One Huntington County resident asserted during the public comment period that golf carts are inherently dangerous in more populous areas.
If the ordinance returns amended remains to be seen. Most councilors did not seem too enthused, however. So, count Huntington out for now.
Then there’s Westfield.
Current in Westfield’s Marney Simon refers to Westfield as a “golf cart city” based on the “vision” of Mayor Scott Willis (R) to open “our entire trail system – other than Monon Trail” to golf carts. Mayor Willis was referring to an expansion of the original 2010 ordinance that legalized golf carts on roads (that have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, anyway) in Westfield. Right now, golf carts are only permitted on the eastern portion of the Midland Trace Trail.
As we noted in our last issue, Mayor Willis created his model based on Georgia’s Peachtree City, which is, apparently, a golf cart utopia. “The entire community is golf carts,” he enthused. “Golf carts are the primary mode of transportation. You go to the high school, you see more golf carts than you see cars.” Peachtree City features 100 miles of paths designed specifically for golf carts, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Mayor Willis envisions Westfield’s golf cart-based future arriving imminently in 2025. “It’s going to be scary for some people – I get it, it’s change,” hizzoner acknowledges. “What scares me more is unleashed dogs … and bicycles.”