The Golf Cart (Micro-Mobility) Infrastructure Plan

Overview

The City of Dunedin Commission and the Golf Cart Task Force is seeking a comprehensive review and assessment of the City’s Golf Cart Infrastructure Plan. City staff is working with transportation planning firm Benesch to review the existing golf cart program and boundary map. The focus of this project is to enhance the user experience for golf cart users with the potential expansion of the golf cart program that may include additional amenities, such as charging stations and defined parking, and crossings of FDOT roadways.

Budget

The total budgeted cost for the Golf Cart Infrastructure Plan, which was approved by the City Commission under the FY 2023 Business Plan Initiative, is $49,954.00. The City has hired consultant Benesch to develop the Plan. There are 4 phases to the Project. Each phase has a separate fee.

• Phase 1: Collection of City, State and Federal data – completed
  • Cost: $4,328.00
• Phase 2: Evaluation of City’s Golf Cart program and Phase 1 data
  • Cost: $11,457.00
• Phase 3: Public Input Survey and Public meetings
  • Cost: $10,391.00
• Phase 4: Final report to include data and analyses from Phases 1, 2, and 3, as well as program evaluation, best practices, infrastructure and parking analysis, and possible recommendations for changes to Land Development Code.
  • Cost: $23,778.00

The Why

The City of Dunedin has a long-standing history of allowing golf carts as an alternative mode of transportation, beginning with the 1983 Golf Cart Ordinance which allowed residents to travel between their homes and the Dunedin Golf Course. In 2008, the City Commission expressed interest in expanding the area where golf carts could be operated as a more generalized form of alternative transportation.

By 2011, the Golf Cart Task Force was established and ultimately recommended the 2011 Golf Cart Ordinance, which allowed for the use of golf carts on certain streets. This system was expanded to a zone-based system in 2012, with subsequent expansions in permissible FDOT and Pinellas County roadway crossings 2014, 2017, and 2018.

Since the inception and evolution of this program, golf carts have proven to be an economical and fun way for residents and visitors to get around. Aside from the positive impact of generating additional revenue at downtown businesses, at least three golf cart dealers exist within the city limits, providing an additional tax base for the city.

To better serve residents and visitors, the City of Dunedin is again seeking to review and potentially expand its golf cart program, this time with an emphasis on enhancing the user experience for golf cart users with the potential additions of amenities such as charging stations and defined parking, along with potential expansion of the program’s limits and additional crossings of FDOT roadways.

To learn about the current status of golf carting in Dunedin, visit the City's Website.

Next Steps

Next steps in this project include creating a Priorization List to include the proposed concepts (crossings, proposed segments and proposed land development code amendments) based on engineering requirements, funding requirements, outside agency coordination and City goals. The proposed Prioritization List will require City Commission approval.