Cars are no longer par for the course on the streets of Chase, B.C.
The village in the Shuswap is now the only community in the province to allow golf carts to operate on local roads.
Last September, the province authorized the golf cart experiment in Chase and Qualicum Beach as part of a 10-year transportation plan to keep the province’s aging population moving. Chase is the first to take the carts on a trial run.
“I’m quite excited about the golf cart project,” Chase Mayor Rick Berrigan said. “When it first came to us, we thought it would be a great way to market Chase and let people know about the innovation of what we’re doing.”
In order to operate a golf cart on roads, you must have a valid driver’s licence, insurance and a municipal permit to get behind the wheel.
Golf carts can only be driven during the daytime and must stick to roads with a maximum speed limit of 30 kilometres an hour. They are not permitted on sidewalks.
“Why pile into your big pickup truck or your big car to drive from your home to go and pick up some prescriptions?” Transportation Minister Todd Stone said. “It’s also terrific for the environment.”
With half of Chase’s population over age 55, many see these as the rides of the future.
Among those is Dennis Stevens, who is one of 11 registered golf cart owners participating in the pilot project.
“I have turn signals, brake lights, horns, whatever you need on a car we’ve got on this golf cart,” he said.
“The older people get, they start to lose their ability to drive at night or to be able to drive on highways. This gives them an opportunity to be able to still get around the community.”
— With files from CFJC and Kristen Robinson