PLACEMENT: Departmental
TITLE:
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GOLF CARTS ON COUNTY ROADS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
Staff is asking the Board of County Commissioners for direction on whether to regulate the use of golf carts on County roads.
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DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PREPARED BY: Name: Lisa A. Wichser, P.E., CFM
Title: County Engineer
REQUESTED BY: The Honorable Board of County Commissioners
PRESET:
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
At the February 18, 2020 Board of County Commissioners (Board) meeting, a resident representing Seagate Harbor and Lighthouse Point solicited the Board to designate their neighborhood's roads for use by golf carts. The Board of County Commissioners asked the staff to bring back an item that identifies acceptable parameters for the designation of golf carts on County roads.
Staff contacted the Sheriff's Office and found that four written citations involving golf carts were issued in unincorporated Martin County since January 1, 2018: one on NE Jensen Beach Boulevard where the driver was cited for unlawfully driving an unregistered vehicle; another on NE Jensen Beach Boulevard where the driver was involved in a hit and run crash and later arrested for driving under the influence; one on NE Causeway Boulevard where the driver was cited for unlawfully driving an unregistered vehicle; and one in Palm City where the driver was arrested for theft of a golf cart.
In the same timeframe, 7 written warnings were issued, and 49 verbal warnings were issued. Only 3 of the written warnings and 17 of the verbal warning were issued in residential neighborhoods, the rest were issued on major corridors like Jensen Beach Boulevard, Federal Highway, Bridge Road, Martin Downs Boulevard, etc.
Florida Statutes prohibits the use of golf carts on public roads, but it provides that a County may designate their use if it determines it is safe:
"316.212 Operation of golf carts on certain roadways - The operation of a golf ...
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