The County Commissioners this morning approved the proposed Pine Island golf cart ordinance by a 4 to 1 vote (with only Commissioner Mann voting no).
The ordinance authorizes the use of golf carts on county owned and maintained streets on Pine Island in the villages of St James City, Pineland, and Bokeelia, as well as all of the side streets off Stringfellow Road. Golf carts are not authorized on streets in Matlacha, or on Pine Island Road (east of Stringfellow) or on Stringfellow Road (between Jug Creek Bridge and St Jude Blvd). Golf carts are also not allowed on the Bike Path or on any street after sunset. A Florida drivers license is required and the usual rules of the road fully apply. See the attachment for a full text of the ordinance.
I expect the next stage to include an educational period in which the Sheriff's Department will issue either warning tickets or violation notices to persons operating golf carts on the Bike Path, to persons without a drivers license, and of course to persons driving drunk or possessing alcohol. They may also issue warnings or tickets to persons failing to signal their turns or otherwise operating in an unsafe manner. Adjustments in practices as well as discretion and patience will be required of both golf cart and larger vehicle drivers for the changes provided by this ordinance to work.
The Lee County Department of Transportation will post signs alerting the public as to where golf carts are and are not allowed. In future development orders, re-zonings, and land and highway planning, the Greater Pine Island Civic Association and Lee County Planning Staff will take both bicycle and golf cart access into consideration on all permitting and planning actions, with the goal of providing alternative and safe means of personal transportation throughout as much of the Island as possible.
Our thanks to the County Commissioners, as well as the Lee DOT and County Attorney Staffs and Lee County Sheriff Captain Richard Dobson, for all their work on this ordinance over the past 15 months.
Phil Buchanan
email: coolcherokee@comcast.net
