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Monticello council hears concerns about golf-cart access on Bridge Street after speed-limit change
Summary
Councilors spent significant time Oct. 14 discussing golf-cart and slow-moving-vehicle access on Bridge Street following a speed-limit change. Concerns focused on safety at the bridge and nearby intersections, curb geometry that forces carts into traffic, and whether the council should restrict cart access by ordinance in the future.
Monticello councilors devoted an extended portion of their Oct. 14 meeting to community concerns about golf carts and other slow-moving vehicles crossing Bridge Street after a recent change to local speed limits. The discussion explored the legal basis for allowing slow-moving vehicles on roads posted at 35 mph or less, safety and design issues at the Railroad/Foothill/Bridge Street area, and possible next steps for the council.
Alderman Lively said she had been approached by residents about golf carts using Bridge Street and the safety risks where curb geometry forces carts into traffic. She raised concerns about children being unrestrained in carts and about carts’ speeds relative to other traffic.
Council members and the police chief noted that a city ordinance passed in April 2015 allows slow-moving vehicles to travel on roads posted 35 mph or less (excluding State Route 105). The police chief told councilors the department’s records show no accidents reported involving slow-moving vehicles since that ordinance was enacted. Several council members said the change in posted limits unintentionally opened the door for golf carts to cross the bridge because the city’s ordinance allowed slow-moving vehicles where the posted limit is 35 mph or less.
Councilors discussed practical mitigation: revisiting curb and ditch slopes to provide a safer pull-off for carts, monitoring usage, and bringing a formal ordinance to a future meeting if the community requests a restriction. No ordinance change was put forward at the Oct. 14 meeting. Several members suggested that two aldermen could request a formal agenda item to consider an ordinance prohibiting golf carts on particular streets if the issue gains traction.
The discussion repeatedly emphasized process clarity: councilors said it is possible to change the rules by ordinance, but that doing so would remove a mobility option currently used by some residents to access town amenities (for example, ball fields). Councilors asked staff and law enforcement to monitor the situation and to bring a formal agenda item if they determine a change is warranted.
