Monticello council narrowly approves ban on golf carts and low-speed vehicles on a stretch of Bridge Street

The Monticello City Council approved Ordinance 2025-74, prohibiting non-highway and low-speed vehicles, including golf carts, on Bridge Street west of Foothill Road/Railroad Street after a 4-3 roll-call vote during the Oct. meeting.

The ordinance amends Title 7, Chapter 78 of the city code to bar operation of those vehicles on the specified segment. Councilmembers who voted yes said they were chiefly concerned about safety on the narrow bridge portion of Bridge Street and the risk to younger riders; members who voted no stressed access for residents on the west side and noted there had been no reported golf-cart accidents since permits were allowed.

Robin, a resident who addressed the council during public comment, urged the council not to assume golf carts are inherently unsafe. "There have been 0 golf cart accidents for 5 years that we've been that they've been allowed," she said, and cited social and environmental benefits of golf-cart communities.

Council discussion focused on two central points: visibility and roadway geometry at the bridge versus the convenience and connectivity the carts provide to west-side neighborhoods. Several councilmembers noted that, following a recent speed-limit change, roughly 30 additional permit applications had been received from west-side residents seeking to use carts to reach the main part of town. Council members also recounted recent enforcement action in which an underage driver and the permitting adult were cited, illustrating existing enforcement tools.

Asked after the vote whether permit holders would receive refunds, council and staff said permits remain valid for use inside neighborhoods but not for travel across the prohibited Bridge Street segment. City staff said residents who live west of the river will need to trailer carts or use other routes to access Oberheim Park; a planned second phase of park access may provide a path from Apple Tree into the park but is not part of the first construction phase.

Implementation and enforcement will fall to the police department under existing permitting and citation rules. The ordinance passed 4-3; the council did not identify a mover or seconder on the public record for the final motion in the transcript.

The question prompted immediate operational questions from residents and council members about notice and refunds; staff said the city would prepare written notice to permit holders and will follow up with details on refunds and enforcement procedures.