PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio – In recent years, Put-in-Bay’s tiny downtown has become overrun with golf carts clogging the streets, hogging parking and making the idyllic island community less pleasant for both residents and tourists.
This summer, village officials are pushing back.
Village Council recently passed a law that caps the number of golf carts on the island to the number registered on Put-in-Bay last year.
Put-in-Bay Mayor Judy Berry estimated there are about 900 registered golf carts for rent inside the village. And the surrounding township has at least that many, she said.
Council also instituted a new $5-per-hour fee for drivers who park downtown.
It is hoped that the two measures will ease gridlock and promote better visitor behavior on busy weekends this summer.
“We should have done this 10 years ago,” said Berry. “We have way too many golf carts.”
Berry said the problem reached a breaking point on a beautiful weekend last July, when the local police had to call in law enforcement officers from surrounding counties to help direct traffic and rein in the bad behavior.
After that chaotic weekend last summer, council issued a moratorium on the registration of any new golf cart rentals on the island.
The new village legislation essentially caps that number indefinitely.
The law affects businesses in both the village of Put-in-Bay and across South Bass, the 1,588-acre island in Lake Erie about 3 miles from the Ohio mainland.
Eventually, Berry said, officials may try to decrease the number of golf carts on the island – although the village is taking incremental steps to start.
“We’re going to look at it every year,” she said. “We had to start somewhere.”
She added, “This is a painful process. Obviously, the businesses aren’t happy about it.”
Wendy Chambers, executive director of the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce, declined to comment on the new legislation. The Plain Dealer/cleveland.com reached out to several island golf-cart companies for comment.
Jacob Market, a member of village council, said officials were “hoping the golf cart community would self-regulate. That doesn’t seem to be happening.”
He noted that his own family’s business, which runs E’s Golf Cart Rentals as well as Miller Boat Line, already limits the number of carts it rents.
“When it takes you a half hour to drive across a 3-mile island, something is wrong,” he said.
Market also noted that the proliferation of golf carts has created a secondary problem – a parking squeeze downtown.
The decision to add a parking fee should ease the shortage of downtown parking, and will also raise money to pay for additional police officers.
The fee is expected to go into effect sometime in June, implemented by the T2 MobilePay system.
The money raised by the parking fee should allow the island to hire and retain more police officers, said Berry. Currently, the village employs about 10 officers. She said the village is planning to create an auxiliary force, with as many as six officers who will be empowered to write tickets, direct traffic and perform other functions.
Berry said she recognizes that many residents and visitors won’t be happy with some of the new policies.
She also said she understands that golf carts are a great way to see the island. “I have one, too,” she said, although she frequently leaves it at home on busy summer days and rides her bike instead.
“People like the novelty of driving around and seeing the sights,” said Market. “It’s cute in so many ways.”
But he added: “”Everybody here knows what needs to be done. How to do it is always the tough part.”
He acknowledged that on busy weekends, some visitors may not be able to find a golf cart to rent.
In that case, he said, they will be directed to local taxi, shuttle or tour companies to move around the island, which is about 3.5 miles long by 1.5 miles wide. Bicycles are available for rent, as well.
Market said he expects there will be litigation on the matter. “It will be contested by someone,” he said, adding, “We had to do something. It may not be perfect. But we had to try.”
