Gamecock ‘golf cart taxis’ in jeopardy? Columbia considers new restrictions
Columbia leaders are keeping their promise to look at what some have called a mounting issue in the capital city: the proliferation of golf carts on city roads.
“It seems like there’s golf carts everywhere now,” said Columbia City Councilman Peter Brown, adding that he gets frequent calls about people jetting around the city on golf carts stuffed with people.
Columbia’s public safety committee will soon begin discussions about how the city might add new rules for the use of the vehicles, which Brown said are currently lacking.
“It’s pretty rule-less,” he said.
The city council last year took a brief look at a draft ordinance that would have effectively banned the use of for-hire “golf cart taxis,” a common practice around Williams-Brice Stadium on gamedays. That ordinance also would have put new limits on how people would be able to use their personal golf carts on streets within the city.
“The unregulated operation of golf carts on the streets of the city is and would continue to be detrimental to the safety of the public,” that draft ordinance read.
The city council ultimately punted that discussion and has not taken it back up until now.
Brown said it feels like momentum is building for a “common-sense review” of the rules.
But what exactly those rules might look like won’t be settled until city leaders can gather more information about how the carts are being used around town. Brown promises that the process will also include an effort to hear from residents about their concerns: both from people worried that the regulations would restrict the use of their personal golf carts, and from residents worried about road safety and other issues that arise from the vehicles driving on busy city streets.
“We do like public input,” Brown said, adding that the goal is not to outlaw golf carts in general. He does expect that the city will land on some kind of new regulations, however.
For now, he called this phase of the process the “awareness” phase, and that he expects the city will take its time gathering feedback before deciding on the new rules.
Whatever rules the city does choose to write into the ordinance would also have to dovetail with state and county regulations. For example, state law requires golf carts to be insured, permitted and registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Golf Carts are also only allowed on state roads where the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less. The city’s previously proposed ordinance closely matches the state’s language. The area around Williams-Brice stadium also includes portions of unincorporated Richland County.
The exact date and time of the city’s meeting to discuss the topic has not yet been posted.
