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Senators weigh safety, signage and local control in proposal to let cities permit golf carts on sidewalks
Summary
Senate Bill 367 would let cities authorize driving golf carts on sidewalks for people 16 and older with a Class C license; senators pressed concerns about sidewalk width, school zones, signage and a likely amendment to limit use to areas near golf courses.
Adam introduced Senate Bill 367, which would allow a city, by ordinance, to permit driving a golf cart upon sidewalks within its limits while restricting drivers to those 16 or older who hold a valid class C driver’s license.
“Golf carts are allowed to be used in certain circumstances,” Adam said while explaining current law, “Of course, not currently on sidewalks,” and added that the bill would exclude interstates, federal highways and state highways from any authorization. He also told senators that golf carts lawfully operated on public roads currently do not require insurance.
Senators pressed for specifics. Senator Klam said an amendment is likely needed to limit sidewalk use to areas near golf courses—suggesting roughly a one-mile radius—and indicated he plans to propose language to that effect. Senator Cruz and others asked whether any sidewalk could be opened and whether cities would set speed and area limits; Adam said the bill intentionally leaves those parameters to municipal ordinances.
Councilman JV Johnson, a proponent, described constituent situations in which seniors relied on sidewalks to reach a clubhouse and said a 67-year-old woman received only a warning after being stopped by police while using a sidewalk to reach a golf course. Johnson urged targeted allowances, saying municipalities should exclude busy corridors and school areas and give pedestrians right-of-way if a city adopts an ordinance: “So what we would like is if we could just do a mile range around golf courses, that would accomplish our goal,” he said.
Senators and proponents raised additional concerns: narrow 3-foot sidewalks in some neighborhoods, potential damage to lawns if carts stray from sidewalks, the challenge of policing permitted zones without signage, and the risk of minors and multiple young passengers operating carts in places where they are currently used informally.
The committee heard an additional proponent (Anne Marie Yasuda, staff attorney for the League of Municipalities) and, seeing no opponents, closed the hearing. Senator Peterson said the committee will draft and work several guardrail amendments next week, including language limiting areas of permissible operation and addressing signage and enforcement.
The hearing did not produce a committee vote; members agreed to pursue amendments and return to the bill.
