Golf carts no longer allowed on Cape streets
Unless you own a golf cart on steroids, you won’t be able to drive your cart on Cape Coral streets.
Cape Coral City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to ban golf carts from all city streets, even those where they are allowed through previous resolutions.
In 2003, council approved the use of golf carts on city streets in the Saratoga Lake area only. Following a public hearing, Council repealed this resolution, thus prohibiting golf carts on all city streets.
This decision does not impact the use of low-speed vehicles on city streets, which is allowed under state law.
The issue first came forward in December when resident Robert Denis requested golf cart use on roads bound by Southeast 10th Street, Southeast 11th Terrace, Southeast 17th Terrace and Southeast 20th Avenue, east of Del Prado Boulevard.
The Council then came to a consensus in February at a workshop meeting that they would just as soon ban golf carts altogether than designate certain areas for their use.
In other business:
n Council voted 7-1 to rezone a planned unit development (PUD), Surfside Apartments, from the Residential Multi-Family Low (RML) to a Residential Planned Unit Development (RPUD) and to approve the master plan for the development, with conditions.
This would increase the density of the project from 16 to 23 units acre, which some residents nearby were fearful would impact them in regards to the traffic additional density would create.
Residents were worried about the possibility of 3,400 cars per day using Southwest 21st Avenue and Southwest 23rd Street as exit points for the project, which are smaller residential streets, the former of which is a dead end.
They, along with council, also wanted some sort of fencing around the project instead of the current landscape buffer, which the developers were open to.
One person on Council was not convinced that was a good option.
“That’s a lot of fence. We don’t know what the added capacity will have on residents. I wouldn’t support added capacity because we don’t know the impact on people,” said Councilmember Dan Sheppard, who was the lone dissenting vote.
“I don’t agree with it at all. I think there will be an issue with traffic. It’s a small residential road with a possible 3,400 trips per day coming out into a residential neighborhood,” said nearby resident Mike Harper. “We got the fence, which is huge. I don’t think the developer wanted to do it, but was forced to.”
n Several residents suggested during citizens input that the city change the name of the Cape Coral Sports Complex to the John Carioscia Sports Park.
Carioscia, an avid softball player and two-term city councilmember, passed away in March from COVID, and residents said the best way to memorialize his service would be to name the park after him.
Several parks have been named after council members, such as Jim Jeffers Park. Members on the current council were open to the suggestion and eager to make that a reality.
n Council approved an ordinance adding 11 new streets to the existing regulation that prohibits overnight parking of commercial vehicles and trailers on city streets that have the proper signage.
Overnight parking is prohibited on those streets between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
One particular area that generated multiple complaints is Southwest 8th Place from Southwest 26th Street to Southwest 28th Street.
To reach CHUCK?BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com