Foley, Ala. - (OBA) - In a bid to provide residents with alternative modes of transportation, Foley City Council has moved towards expanding the streets where golf carts are permitted. The council approved the initial reading of an ordinance that aims to improve the city's north-south connectivity on Monday, May 15, 2023.

The ordinance, slated for a final vote on June 5, would allow golf carts on sections of Oak Street, Pine Street, and West Roosevelt Avenue, located west of Alabama 59. Golf carts are currently permitted on several streets and alleys in Foley, including areas near the South Baldwin Regional Medical Center.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich has expressed that this expansion will offer increased access to golf cart and low-speed vehicle drivers, particularly those traveling in a north-south direction. “This will close the gap with connectivity,” Hellmich said. He further noted that after this action, not many more streets are expected to be included in the golf cart routes due to traffic safety concerns.

“We’ve talked about other areas in Foley, but there are really no other areas in Foley that has this type of unique situation,” Hellmich said. “On the southeast side of Foley, they’re isolated subdivisions where you have higher-speed roads, so I don’t envision, at this time, any other movement toward streets.”

Hellmich said other streets in the older section of Foley, such as Cedar Street, have too much traffic for golf carts to be allowed.

The plan also involves reducing the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on the designated streets, in compliance with state law that disallows golf carts on streets with a limit above this speed. 

David Wilson, the Public Safety Director, clarified that anyone operating a low-speed vehicle or golf cart must be a licensed driver and that all other city and state vehicle laws, such as penalties for drunk driving, still apply.