Charleston committee to draft narrow ordinance after state law limits golf cart use on multiuse paths

Charleston City Council members and staff discussed whether to permit golf carts on certain multiuse paths and directed legal staff to draft narrowly tailored ordinance language that would enumerate specific paths rather than creating citywide allowances.

The discussion followed the committee’s review of a resident and councilmember Bowden request to allow golf-carts on a multiuse path near Drayton Hall Elementary to ease access off U.S. 61. Staff told the committee that a state statute prohibits golf carts on multiuse paths unless a municipality explicitly enumerates an exception for a specific path; the city has installed bollards at some paths to prevent cart access under the current interpretation.

Council members and the mayor emphasized a surgical approach. “We need to be very strategic and very surgical about how we approach this because it could become a problem if everyone wants access to the paths,” a committee member said. Council Member Bowden proposed enumerating the Ashley River bike path as an example of a single-path approach; members said any ordinance should include pedestrian and bicycle safety protections, yield rules and limiting provisions (for example limits on distance from residence, registration and insurance requirements noted in state law).

The mayor asked legal staff and staff from affected districts to draft proposed language with affected council members and return it to the committee at the next meeting. The committee requested consultation with advocacy groups and fire/traffic safety staff and emphasized the need to avoid setting an unintended citywide precedent.