SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — With more and more residents riding around in golf carts, some would call Safety Harbor a golf cart-friendly town, but there are rules to the road.
In Florida, golf carts may only be operated on roadways designated for them by a county or municipality. So, the City Commission looked at implementing a citywide golf cart ordinance.
“The ordinance would allow golf carts that are not currently legal per state law in Safety Harbor,” said Mayor Joe Ayoub.
The ordinance ultimately did not pass.
“When we reviewed the ordinance there were still a lot of questions that weren’t answered such as insurance requirements and safety equipment and things like that. And quite frankly we just didn’t have enough information to be comfortable moving forward with that ordinance,” Ayoub said.
Ayoub tells ABC Action News shifting from state law to city ordinance would cause confusion.
“If we were to allow golf carts, we would have to split the city into several zones. Bifurcate different zones that they’re allowed on and not allowed,” he said.
Despite this, it’s not hard to spot a golf cart cruising the streets of Safety Harbor.
“A lot of these people that have the golf carts are going in and they’re getting them modified so that they are legal and they do follow the state law,” Ayoub said.
