LANSING — Golf carts are an increasingly common sight in Michigan, miles away from fairways and tee boxes.
Under legislation taken up by a House committee April 28, their use could become even more widespread.
Currently, municipalities with populations of 30,000 or less can opt to allow use of golf carts on local streets.
House Bill 4644 would expand that option to cities, villages and townships with populations of up to 65,000.
“This is about meeting people where they are,” state Rep. Alicia St. Germaine, R-Harrison Township, told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“If a community wants it, they can have it,” St. Germaine testified. “If they don’t, nothing changes.”
Where permitted, use of golf carts on city streets is subject to certain state law restrictions, including:
If approved by both chambers of the Legislature and signed into law, the bill would allow the use of golf carts in 19 additional cities, subject to local approval, according to a House Fiscal Agency summary. The summary did not say how many additional townships would be eligible for the use of golf carts on local streets under the bill.
The Michigan Municipal League said it did not have data on how many local governments currently permit the use of golf carts on local streets, but the website legalclarity.org pegged the number at about 50.
Robb Mackay, owner of Green Oak Golf Carts in Brighton, said in an April 28 phone interview he was not aware of the legislation, but he supports it.
“It’s a family thing,” Mackay said of golf carts. “There are so many uses,” and only “about 20% or less of our customers are golfers.”
Mackay said he sells to apartment complexes, retirement villages and landscaping companies. He said allowing expanded use inside cities could help downtown businesses and tourist areas.
Though gasoline-powered golf carts exist, most models sold today are electric, Mackay said. A golf cart can cost anywhere from $3,500 to $30,000, depending on how many passengers it can carry and other features, he said. Making an existing golf cart “street-legal,” with required lights and other safety features, can cost between $1,000 and $2,000, he said.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Pat Outman, R-Six Lakes, did not move the bill to the full House at its April 28 meeting, but it didn’t hear from anyone opposed to the legislation.
Ed Noyola, chief deputy and legislative director of the County Road Association of Michigan, told the committee his organization is neutral on the bill.
Noyola said his only concerns relate to safety and signage. Since golf carts can’t be operated on roads with speed limits higher than 30 miles per hour, he asked how operators are supposed to know the speed limits of the roads they are trying to access. If more speed limit signs are going to be necessary, Noyola said he would have a concern about who would be expected to pay for them.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan lawmakers consider expanded use of golf carts on city streets
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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