Residents in Bellevue have been able to cruise around town in golf carts since last June, excluding Fairfield Avenue and Memorial Parkway.
At the June 14 city council meeting, Bellevue City Administrator Frank Warnock and council members showed interest in legislation allowing the carts on Fairfield Avenue. But when it appeared on the agenda at the July 12 meeting, the council voted to table the item for more information.
The two options on the table at Wednesday’s meeting were an order amending the city’s rules and restrictions to allow golf carts on the avenue without restrictions. The second choice was to allow them only from sunup to sundown.
Council member Pat Hogan said he had opposed allowing golf carts in the city since the conversation started, so he was against the amendment.
Member Mike Almoslechner agreed that he did not want them on the avenue right now but said it could be something they change in the future.
“We have a chief of police and fire chief that really don’t want this,” Almoslechner said. “And we don’t have that many golf carts registered yet. That doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be registered, but right now, I think I’d like them not to be on Route 8.”
At the June meeting, Warnock said the police and fire chiefs were against allowing them on the avenue.
“The police chief said no, don’t do it. The fire chief said no, don’t do it,” Warnock said. “Their interest is public safety, and they don’t want to see people get hurt on Fairfield Avenue.”
According to the city, there are currently eight registered carts which are few compared to neighboring Fort Thomas, with a comparable golf cart ordinance and 48 registered carts.
Almoslechner said anyone who needs to come down to Fairfield on golf carts could cross Fairfield Avenue at light intersections or utilize alleyways roughly half a block from the avenue.
Council member Sean Fischer said he understood the safety concerns but said when he thinks about Bellevue, it is multimodal.
“We end up with this type of ordinance preferencing the dangerous vehicles and disallowing the less dangerous vehicles on the avenue,” Fischer said. “We have bicycles; we have motorcycles; we have pedestrians; we have scooters, all of these under this type of thinking we wouldn’t allow on the avenue because they’re not as safe as a Ford F-150.”
Fischer said that the city doesn’t have the parking or space for everyone to have a full-size vehicle. He said the golf cart ordinance solved some urban problems and environmental challenges they face.
“I want to make sure that we keep all that in mind alongside outlawing someone’s ability to do something for their own safety,” he said. “Should we allow them to take that risk for themselves if there’s a greater societal benefit for them? Having this mode of transportation is something we should consider.”
Fischer said he would be interested in data supporting the decision to allow them on Fairfield, such as the rate of unsafe vehicles on the avenue versus the other roads and what that looks like, night versus day. He said this would help understand general safety parameters and relative risks.
The council voted to table the item until their next meeting in August.
