Casual Legal: Golf carts... coming to a road near you!

By Justine Fay
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider

The Government of Alberta has created a pilot project which enables municipalities to permit the use of golf carts on certain public roads.

Here is what you need to know:

1. The pilot project is made possible through the Pilot Project (Golf Carts) Regulation (the “Regulation”). The Regulation sets out certain minimum standards and exempts golf carts and their operators from certain aspects of the Traffic Safety Act, which would otherwise make driving golf carts on public roads illegal.
2. The Regulation only applies when municipalities enact a bylaw that meets certain requirements set out in the Regulation. For example, the bylaw must clearly designate the roads that golf carts are permitted upon and provide for a permit or registration system.
3. The bylaw can impose additional safety requirements, but it cannot exceed the minimum requirements and limitations in the Regulation. For example, the Regulation states that golf carts cannot be driven on roads with a maximum speed over 50 km/hr. A municipality could enact a bylaw that lowers this to 30 km/hr, but could not increase the maximum speed beyond the limit in the Regulation.
4. The bylaw must be approved by the Registrar of Motor Vehicle Services.
5. The registrar can add additional requirements to the regulation. If he or she opts to do so, municipalities will be notified and have 60 days to bring their bylaws up to date.
6. The Regulation expires on June 14, 2029, at which time the municipal bylaws will no longer be valid.

The minimum requirements can be found at sections 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the Regulation. Specific requirements for municipal bylaws can be found in section 4.

If you would like more information regarding the pilot project or would like a draft bylaw reviewed, please contact our office.

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call 1-800-661-7673 or send an casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an email to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.