[RahulNagaraj]

Peachtree City in Georgia, USA is said to be the most golf cart-friendly municipality in the country.

The rather small 25-square-mile town has over 100 miles of car-free multi-use paths crisscrossing all over. The city also has dedicated golf cart parking at many of its shopping centres and other public buildings. Reports state that 9,300 golf carts are registered among its 13,000 households.

There are many villages and towns across the USA where golf carts are used for transportation. However, Peachtree City is the only all-ages suburb where golf carts are said to be intrinsic to local life.



As per reports, the unique mobility solution dates back to the town's founding in the 1950s. Joel Cowan, the city's first mayor, along with his colleagues, served as both private developers and master planners of the suburb. They invested in amenities like preserved woodlands, artificial lakes and multi-use paths.

The golf carts started arriving in the mid-1960s after a golf course opened nearby. The golf-playing residents realised the ease of using the golf carts on the town's multi-use paths, which soon became popular. As Peachtree City expanded, the town built tunnels and bridges to reduce grade crossing with car traffic.



Georgia, in the 1970s, passed legislation exempting golf carts from state motor vehicle laws, allowing the rules to be set by local jurisdictions. As per the rules in Peachtree City, residents are required to register their golf carts and recommend getting insurance (although not mandatory). Also, anyone 16 or older can legally drive a golf cart, irrespective of whether they have a driver's licence and 15-year-olds with a learner's permit are also allowed to drive. In addition to this, Children over 12 can also drive with an adult in the front seat.

Golf carts in Peachtree City retail for about $13,000 for a 4-seater and $16,000 for a 6-seater - a third of the cost of a new car. The golf carts are all electric, with owners able to charge them either at their house or at public charging stations.

As per realtors, a golf cart path "adds to the lifestyle" and pushes up real-estate value in the town. Peachtree City is also said to offer strong public schools, which combined with low crimes and a vibrant social life, makes it one of the best places to live in the US - as per a recent report.

The city is still, in many ways, said to be a typical affluent suburb. However, public transport is non-existent, with no bus stops and the nearest park-&-ride station being miles away. The multi-use paths are covered in trees and foliage with minimal signage - which seems to make it intended solely for the use of residents. People living in Peachtree City pay just $15 to register a golf cart for 3 years, however, an outsider needs to pay $250 annually to make use of the paths.

Source: Bloomberg

Link to Team-BHP news

[amitoj]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
You should do one on the Roundabout Capital of the world, which of all the places, is a city in Indiana, by the name of Carmel. CNBC featured this city in a video about why roundabouts are not popular in USA and yet how Carmel came to be the city with the most roundabouts, a.k.a. traffic circles in the world. It also gives a brief history lesson on how traffic control came to be.

Roundabouts are Safer. Why US has so few

[Dry Ice]

I remember seeing this on Tom Scott’s channel a few years ago.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pcVGqt...bGYgY2FydHM%3D

[dragracer567]

Americans would do literally anything to avoid using bicycles!

I understand the usefulness of golf carts though - easier for the elderly and/or disabled people.

However, for the abled - bicycles are the best anyday. Just look at the Dutch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boi0...BiaWtlcw%3D%3D

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

Peachtree City in Georgia, USA is said to be the most golf cart-friendly municipality in the country.

The rather small 25-square-mile town has over 100 miles of car-free multi-use paths crisscrossing all over. The city also has dedicated golf cart parking at many of its shopping centres and other public buildings. Reports state that 9,300 golf carts are registered among its 13,000 households.


The golf carts started arriving in the mid-1960s after a golf course opened nearby. The golf-playing residents realised the ease of using the golf carts on the town's multi-use paths, which soon became popular. As Peachtree City expanded, the town built tunnels and bridges to reduce grade crossing with car traffic.

Thanks for this thread. Brought back some good memories of the time I spent around there.

1 Perthshire Dr, Peachtree City, GA 30269, USA.
This is where I lived for some time when my onsite assignment was with a Lighting company in the same city.









It was during early days of my career and my onsite assignment was short term. Hence I rented a room in the house at this address. The owner, Bob, was a 50 yr old Pilot with some cargo airline and was away for around 20 days a month making the whole house practically mine !
He permitted me to use the entire house and his stuff anytime provided I walked his Dogs, Bongo and Daisy and fed them. fair bargain. worked out ok for me. Fun fact: my 6 yr old Labrador is also Bongo. Guess I got lazy.

The 'everything' included his Gold Cart. He was an old-timer in the local golf club adjoining his property courtesy of which, I got to use his Golf Club Membership and his kit too !!

The whole city has a network of roads/pathways in and around the woods and I practically did not need to use my car except for going to work and back.

Driving to the local drinking hole for a few beverages while watching football and back was never a bother. Cops never checked on Gold Cart drivers. They have started in recent times I'm told.

The article is right - this area is quite sought after by the affluent who also get the advantage of being close-by the airport too. Several millionaires call this city their home.

This city, to me, is the only place in US that I would 'love to' live in.

However, there is a dark side to Peachtree City. This is what I heard from Bob over an evening of BBQ and beer. Several decades ago, the city chose to deliberately raise the cost of living just to 'Flush out' lower class folk which eventually moved to Fayetteville and Riverdale. Essentially Peachtree City was, in his words, White-washed. Very racist ideology but it seemed to have been acceptable in those days. Some of Bob's friends were proud in pointing out ''do you see Bail Bond Billboards in Peachtree City? No. They're all down in Fayetteville now.''.