King City residents wrangle over golf cart use

KING CITY, Ore. – A new ordinance due to go into effect at an Oregon community populated mostly with retired people may end up limiting their mobility.

Many of the 2,700 residents in King City use golf carts to get around their neighborhoods.

Now, city officials want anyone piloting a golf cart to have a city-issued permit. But in order to get a permit, you need to be able to legally operate a regular street-legal automobile.

City council members said the new provision addresses safety concerns. Some residents counter that lightweight golf carts going 15 mph don’t constitute a serious hazard.

City manager Dave Wells told KATU News that some of the residents have lost their driving privileges and should not be operating the carts.

Currently, there is no skills test or age limit for driving a golf cart in Oregon. However, there are legal limits on where they can be driven. The new King City rules would set an age limit of 16 years old to drive a cart, along with a license to drive.

Local resident Jim Armour said that he worries about people who have never driven a car getting behind the wheel of a golf cart with no knowledge of the rules of the road. He backs the city council’s decision.

The ordinance would also require carts to have slow-moving vehicle signs and operate during daylight hours only.

One resident who identified himself only as Gordon said he had not heard of an accident with a golf cart in his eight years of living in the community. He spoke in opposition to the proposed permits at a city council meeting

One recent incident involving a cart and a car resulted in minor injuries, but other incidents have been rare.

Armour said he also worries about older cart drivers that have diminished mental faculties.

Oregon lawmakers are looking into whether to expand the areas that golf cart-style vehicle can be legally driven since they are typically battery powered and therefore cut down on pollution.