Golf cart taxis could provide Auburn football fans with an alternative method of travel through Auburn’s downtown this fall.
The Auburn City Council passed an ordinance on Wednesday approving the use of low-speed vehicle taxicabs on City roadways with speed limits under 35 miles per hour.
Local businessman Mathan Holt approached the City with plans to start a golf cart shuttling service during home games and downtown events but had concerns about the ambiguity of the ordinance as it related to golf carts.
“The ordinance was somewhat gray about whether me or anybody else could come in here and provide this service, but I wanted it to be out in the public where everybody would know and be on board with it,” Holt said.
The revised ordinance is patterned off of Tuscaloosa’s ordinance, which already allows the use of golf cart taxis along with other towns in the Southeast such as Nashville, Knoxville, Tallahassee and Fairhope.
Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders and Ward 5 Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine both expressed reservations they had concerning the safety of golf carts and their passengers on congested city streets.
“What we’re trying to do is be creative and come up with some different ways to get people in and out of downtown efficiently, but my concern would be is this safe?” Anders said. “There’s a lot of impatient people that are going faster than what our signs say, and now we’re going to put people in golf carts with not a lot of protection.”
Assistant Manager Kevin Cowper said the City of Auburn had conversed with the City of Tuscaloosa about their experiences with the golf cart taxicabs it has in place and would ask if any accidents have taken place involving the golf carts.
According to the ordinance, the golf cart taxis must be street legal, have a vehicle identification number, a windshield, headlights, tail lights, seat belts, carry no more than eight persons and disallow anyone from drinking alcoholic beverages in the golf cart.
The Council also approved a contract with D & J Enterprises, Inc. for construction of a project on the East Glenn Avenue Municipal Parking Lot for $1,063,235.
The project will demolish the Carolyn Apartment building located at 338 East Glenn Avenue and put an 88-space parking lot in its place in a effort to improve downtown parking.
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