https://www.pressherald.com/2019/08/15/peaks-island-will-go-electric-to-tame-golf-cart-traffic/
[A welcome change from the automaker-driven campaigns to make electric
cars more noisy.
images and links in online article]
Posted Yesterday at 7:46 PM
Peaks Island will go electric to tame golf cart traffic
Responding to complaints, the Portland City Council requires rental
companies to ditch noisy gas models for all-electric ones by 2021.
By Edward D. Murphy Staff Writer
The city moved to tighten the reins on golf carts on Peaks Island this
week, requiring rented carts to be all-electric by the summer of 2021.
The Portland City Council agreed Monday to a new set of regulations on
the rented carts, with the all-electric requirement intended to cut down
on the noise and emissions from gas-powered carts that summer visitors
use to cruise around the city’s busiest island.
One Peaks resident told the council the noise was akin to “riding
lawnmowers going by your house … about every other minute.” Golf cart
rentals have been a source of tension for years on some Casco Bay
islands, and a recent survey of Peaks islanders found that most
respondents wanted to ban the carts altogether.
The council adopted the measure by a 7-0 vote, but it won’t have an
immediate impact. The new set of rules, including a mandate that rental
carts be marked with the renting company’s name, won’t take effect until
next May and the all-electric requirement doesn’t kick in until 2021 so
the rental companies have time to convert their fleets.
Several residents said the carts are just a symptom of tourism run amok
on Peaks, a problem they fear will get worse when Casco Bay Lines puts a
new, larger ferry into service in 2021. Although some islanders told the
council this week they would like to see the rental carts banned on
Peaks, others said the restrictions are a reasonable first step to
address complaints about the noise, exhaust and worries about safety.
Steve Clayman told the council that he bought his home on Peaks 11 years
ago when it was a quiet neighborhood.
“Since that time, without exaggeration, it has turned into on some days,
or most days, during the summer, what feels like a carnival ride where
there’s golf carts going by,” he said. “Imagine riding lawnmowers going
by your house, through your neighborhood … about every other minute down
the street. Imagine trying to take a walk and enjoying the reason you
live on Peaks Island and this constant roar of golf carts going by.”
And, because they are rented for short periods of time, he said,
“they’re continuously cycling the island.”
Anne Belden, who lives on the island part-time, said the golf cart rules
will help the island neighborhood cope with a steady increase in
day-trippers.
“The golf cart has become an issue that is representative of so much
more, which is how are we going to manage the incredible growth of
tourism on the island?” she said.
The 1.2-square-mile island is a quiet neighborhood of fewer than 1,000
residents in the offseason, but becomes a bustling tourist destination
when the ferry fills up each summer day for the 15-minute boat ride from
mainland Portland.
Two companies rent carts on the island and have a combined fleet of 44.
Mike’s Carts charges $30 an hour with a minimum rental of two hours and
operates between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Peaks Island Golf Carts charges $35
an hour with a one-hour minimum and is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The council’s rules are aimed only at rented carts and don’t affect
carts owned by individuals on the island. Some homes that are rented
come with a golf cart to allow the renters to get around the island and
some year-round residents also have cars or carts.
Mike Sylvester, the owner of Mike’ Carts and also a Democratic state
legislator, said he doesn’t object to the new rules and was moving
toward an all-electric fleet, although the council’s new rules will
require him to accelerate his timeline.
“We feel the options are golf carts or cars and if you’ve seen the cars
running around the island, there aren’t many low-emissions or hybrids,”
he said. “Ninety percent of it (the regulations), we already do. We’ll
figure it all out and we’ll make it work.”
Natasha Markov, the owner of Peaks Island Golf Carts, did not speak at
the council meeting or respond to a message seeking an interview this
week. However, Markov said in June that she appreciated the need for the
changes and would begin transitioning her fleet of 20 carts from gas to
electric, The Forecaster reported.
Sylvester told the councilors that he tries to work with residents to
minimize the impact of the cart rentals.
He also talks to those who rent the carts, Sylvester said, to let them
know about proper cart etiquette on Peaks Island.
“We literally say don’t cut across people’s yards, no laughing and
whooping, no alcohol” and advises those who rent a cart to pull over for
cars on the road.
“We say they should to drive through people’s neighborhoods like you’d
like them driving through your neighborhood,” Sylvester said. “Our
neighbors have been great and we tell them if you see something, call
us. We’ll pull the cart right back in if they re doing something they
shouldn’t.”
Spencer Thibodeau, who heads the council panel that drafted the
regulations, said the goal isn’t to put the cart rental companies out of
business and that idea wasn’t entertained on his Sustainability and
Transportation Committee.
“We’re not trying to shut these people down,” he said. “We wanted to
address the big issue (the islanders) have, which was the quality of life.”
Thibodeau said the requirement that the carts’ ownership be identifiable
would allow islanders to report problems, such as carts that are
overloaded or driven in an unsafe manner. The new rules also require an
annual inspection, he said, adding that further steps would need to be a
reaction to a specific problem.
“I’m willing and open to considering additional steps, but I want to
make sure our steps are data-driven,” Thibodeau said.
He also said the regulations give the city manager the authority to
reduce the number of rental carts allowed if a problem develops.
--
Darryl McMahon
Freelance Project Manager (sustainable systems)
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