Golf carts driving on sidewalks and the Greenway Trail are not permitted.
During Monday’s Common Council meeting, Councilman Don Ecker said that Councilman Randy Longanecker had reached out to him and Councilman Duane Culp with concerns about seeing a number of golf carts driving on the Greenway Trail and sidewalks.
Councilman Ecker suggested looking at the city’s ordinance on golf carts and reviewing it to make sure it clearly states that they are not to be operated on sidewalks and trails.
Councilman Longanecker said he lives near Riverside Intermediate School and has seen a number of golf carts driving on the trail beside the school and into the back of Centennial Park.
Councilman Jeff Houin said the Greenway Trails state No Motorized Vehicles.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi said the clerk-treasurer shared information on a golf cart ordinance being considered in Bremen that will require them to be registered with the town. He said maybe the City of Plymouth Council should investigate the idea. While the city has an ordinance that requires golf carts to be insured there isn’t a mechanism to verify if they are insured.
Surrisi said that Culver has an “extensive” golf cart ordinance and maybe looking at a couple of ordinances from other communities would allow Plymouth to create their own comprehensive ordinance. He suggested working on it over the winter so citizens will have plenty of notice before spring that people will be required to register their golf carts in Plymouth.
Part of the ordinance would detail where golf carts are allowed to be driven. One issue brought us is that golf carts are not permitted on State Road and Lake Avenue and Michigan Street are on State Road 17 and therefore not permitted.
The city attorney will survey some of the other ordinances and present a report to council members and they can discuss what they might want to see in an ordinance.
