Oviedo residents will soon be legally able to drive around the city in an additional form of transportation: golf carts.
Oviedo City Council passed a golf cart ordinance at its Sept. 7 meeting, which will allow residents to drive golf carts on specific roads in Oviedo, which some Council members said could help local businesses.
According to the ordinance, drivers will only be permitted to drive their golf carts on city roads that have a speed limit of 30 mph or less. State and County roads such as County Road 419 and State Road 434 will not be legal to drive on. For instance, city roads such as Lockwood Boulevard and Mitchell Hammock Road have speed limits higher than 30 mph, making them also illegal to drive on with a golf cart.
Safety aspects
Oviedo Police Chief Dale Coleman confirmed that the process required to register a golf cart with the city is similar to that of registering with the state.
“You’re still required to be licensed, insured, have lights. We haven’t dumbed any of that down; we just switched from getting a vin number to a city sticker essentially?” Councilmember Natalie Teuchert said.
Coleman said that there isn’t a large difference between golf cart registration and registering any other motor vehicle.
Golf cart curfew
Council members discussed changing the original hours of the ordinance after an Oviedo resident expressed concern for the positive impact it could have on local businesses.
“Are there any state issues with extending hours to 2 a.m. versus midnight?” Teuchert said.
Coleman said that the original midnight curfew was put in place to deter younger drivers from using them late at night, but can be changed to help make businesses that are open late more accessible to golf cart drivers.
“It is known that when people ride golf carts, they are more likely to stop in local places and give back to the local economy.” Teuchert said in an interview after the meeting.
Taking on the job
Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek was outvoted 4-1 by the other members of the Council. She said she worried that it would add unnecessarily to the police department’s workload.
“I don’t understand how it benefits our police force or our staff to take on something of this magnitude when we haven’t set fees for it and we have no idea he’ll [Chief Coleman] do it,” Sladek said.
Coleman assured Sladek and the rest of the council that the Oviedo Police Department is ready to take on the Golf Cart Program and the work it will add.
“It’s going to add a little bit to the workload, but I think it’s something that we can provide,” Coleman said, adding that he’s an advocate for the program.
After the meeting, Sladek said it seems that many neighborhoods are located off of roads that don’t meet the regulation requirements. She said many neighborhoods located near Lake Jessup are located off of state roads, which prevent residents from leaving their neighborhoods in golf carts.
Sladek said that if people were already breaking the law by driving golf carts on roads before the ordinance was passed, they could still continue to do so afterwards. She doesn’t see it as a solution to the problem.
Oviedo residents can access city roads like Oviedo Boulevard and East Broadway Street from their neighborhoods because the speed limits are 30 mph or less and are not state or county owned.
More revisions could come
Council members will be able to revise the Golf Cart Program in the future, to ensure that drivers are kept safe on the roads.
“It’s good to know that we can adapt it and change it if we do end up approving it tonight at a later time.” Boddiford said.
Rules to follow
- Drivers are required to have proof of insurance that protects them against property damage and personal injury.
- Drivers must have a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit.
- A licensed passenger over the age of 21 must be seated in the seat closest to the right side of a driver with a learner’s permit.
- All golf carts must be registered with the city and display a registration sticker.
- Golf carts may only be driven between the hours of 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
- Golf carts can only be driven on city owned roads that have speed limits of 30 mph or less
- Golf carts are prohibited on state or county owned roads.
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Editor’s note: This article was edited after publication to clarify that, according to the golf cart ordinance, drivers will only be permitted to drive carts on city roads that have a speed limit of 30 mph or less.
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