Coaldale golf carts ruled out of bounds

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on June 29, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Use of golf carts by residents living along Fairway Drive in Coaldale has been ruled out of bounds.
After a request for advice, the town’s legal counsel has determined the Coaldale’s golf cart bylaw, known as Bylaw 217-R-7-87, is inconsistent with Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act.
The bylaw was repealed at the Coaldale town council meeting on Tuesday.
The bylaw was passed in 1987 by Coaldale’s council at the time to regulate and control off-highway vehicles such as golf carts on Fairway Drive, which is the street located within the housing development at Land-O-Lakes Golf Course.
In a press release, mayor Jack Van Rijn said “town council recognizes the longstanding history of the Town’s Golf Cart Bylaw, which allowed those living on Fairway Drive – within the Land-O-Lakes golf course subdivision – the convenience of being able to drive their carts to the golf course. Unfortunately, Council has a duty to uphold the laws of the land, and the Town’s legal counsel was very clear that the Town’s Golf Course Bylaw violated provincial statute. We had little choice but to repeal it.”
The mayor said council wants to work with affected stakeholders on an information campaign for the rest of 2022.
“Our intent is to promote dialogue with residents and to bring awareness to this issue. Legislatively, we did what we had to do. But we are committed to working with the owner of Land-O-Lakes Golf Course to ensure they can continue to operate without disruption.”
The town is exploring options on how to lease a portion of the public sidewalks used as cart paths to the golf course to ensure pathways comply with provincial regulations.
According to the press release, counsel has confirmed that as long as there is proper signage in place and users comply with safety requirements of the provincial statute, golf carts will still be allowed to cross town roadways for the purpose of going from one cart path to another one.
Miniature vehicles, which legally describes golf carts, aren’t along on a public highway in Alberta, their use being confined to pathways or private land.

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