Initially gaining popularity with elite golfers in the 50s and 60s, golf carts are now making their way into all sorts of unlikely places. Employees in airports, warehouses, movie sets and resorts have all gotten mobile with golf carts over the past decade. Residents of careless communities and tropical islands have been using them on the sly as a cheap way of getting from a to b for years. But perhaps one of the most surprising places to find golf carts these days is on the streets of America.

Deeply contrary to the culture of speed, golf carts and the people who drive them are demanding a piece of the road for themselves - and they're getting it. In many ways the timing is absolutely right.

Designed to travel at a leisurely pace and run on electricity, golf carts leave a significantly smaller ecological footprint than the average vehicle. The first electric vehicle available to consumers, golf carts are compact and cheap to run, quiet, easy to drive and non-polluting. They're also painfully slow. Most golf carts top out at speeds of 15 mph with the pedal to the metal. But if you've got time to get to where you're going, what's the problem?

Many communities have simply connected the dots between their warm weather, a preponderance of golf courses and retirees, and the sheer efficiency of these vehicles by building roads and pathways dedicated just to them. Much like bike lanes in other cities, golf cart lanes are showing up in communities all over Florida, Arizona and California. [Read more...]