A better future for golf carts in San Diego’s beach communities

Support practical changes that make beach communities easier to navigate by golf cart, e-bike, and other short local transportation.

CartSD is a public initiative focused on making San Diego’s beach communities work better for golf carts, e-bikes, and other short local trips through practical changes like dedicated parking, better local access, improved routes to recreation areas, and common-sense city policy updates.

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Golf carts make sense in beach communities. City policy should start acting like it.

  • Golf carts are already a real part of daily life in PB and nearby beach areas.
  • Beach trips are often short and local, which makes golf carts a practical fit.
  • Dedicated parking and better access would make beach areas work better.
  • This campaign tracks support, outreach, and pressure on city officials.

What should change?

CartSD is focused on the real-world problems golf cart users run into in San Diego beach areas, especially limited parking options, missing connections across key roads and bridge segments, weak access to nearby recreation areas, and city rules that do not reflect how golf carts are already being used.

Parking

Stop wasting prime parking on all-day vehicle storage

Convert select high-demand curb spaces in commercial and beach-adjacent areas into clearly marked golf cart parking so scarce frontage serves more people instead of being tied up all day by a few full-size vehicles.

Why this matters

  • More capacity from the same curb space

    A small number of standard vehicle spaces can accommodate several golf carts, allowing the same public frontage to serve far more visitors.

  • Stops prime spaces from becoming all-day vehicle storage

    In many of the most valuable pedestrian-heavy areas, standard cars and camper vans occupy prime spaces from early morning to sunset with little turnover, effectively locking up public parking for the entire day.

  • Better match for how these areas are actually used

    Many beach-adjacent and commercial curb segments are a poor fit for large vehicles but an ideal fit for golf carts making short local trips.

  • Supports nearby businesses

    Higher turnover and easier short-stop access help local shops, restaurants, and services by making it easier for more people to park briefly and patronize the area.

What should change

  • Convert select curb spaces in beach-adjacent and commercial areas into marked golf cart parking
  • Prioritize locations with heavy foot traffic and persistent all-day vehicle occupancy
  • Design spaces to maximize safe, efficient use of limited frontage
  • Use striping and signage so the rule is clear and enforceable
  • Use these conversions to reduce pressure on standard parking without adding new pavement

Access

Fix the missing links that cut off beach communities

Fix the small number of missing links that currently cut off entire areas from practical low-speed vehicle travel. A few targeted connections would turn isolated neighborhood use into a real transportation network by linking beach communities, commercial areas, transit, and major recreation destinations.

Priority connections

  • Mission Bay Drive Bridge → SeaWorld island area

    Allow golf carts to use the existing wide bike lane corridor across this short bridge segment so low-speed vehicles can safely reach the SeaWorld island area. This is a simple but important connection that unlocks a destination currently cut off despite being physically close.

  • Sea World Drive Bridge → Ocean Beach

    Create a safe low-speed vehicle connection across the roughly one-mile bridge segment linking Mission Bay and Ocean Beach. This would directly connect Pacific Beach to Ocean Beach, opening a major west-side corridor between beach communities that are functionally near each other but currently disconnected.

  • Pacific Beach → Balboa Avenue Transit Station

    Establish a safe, practical route from Pacific Beach to the Balboa Avenue Transit Station so golf carts can serve as a true first-mile / last-mile transportation option. This would connect neighborhood trips to regional transit and allow residents to reach jobs, events, and destinations across the city without relying entirely on a full-size car.

  • Pacific Beach → East Mission Bay / Fiesta Island

    Provide a safe connection from Pacific Beach into East Mission Bay so residents can access Fiesta Island and the full eastern side of the bay. This would open a large recreational and mobility area that is currently close in distance but effectively inaccessible by golf cart.

Policy

Officially permit the back-in curb parking already being used

Did you know? Golf carts are not technically allowed to park backed up to the curb because a law aimed at cars parking too far from the curb is being twisted to target golf carts.

The problem

  • Golf carts are being cited under California Vehicle Code § 22502, which says vehicles must be parked “parallel to, and within 18 inches of, the right-hand curb”, while separately saying a motorcycle must have “at least one wheel or fender touching” the curb. That is a poor fit for a short, low-speed vehicle that is commonly and efficiently parked nose-in or tail-in.

    The result is periodic ticketing of a practical parking style that saves space and is already widely used.

    In practice, the citation turns on the technicality that a backed-in golf cart’s front tires sit more than 18 inches from the curb, even though the vehicle itself is parked tight to the curb and the rule is plainly aimed at vehicles parked excessively far from the curb.

Why this should be allowed

  • Turn one space into four

    A single standard curb space that serves one full-size vehicle can often accommodate up to four golf carts, dramatically increasing parking capacity without adding pavement or removing travel lanes.

  • Better use of curb space

    Golf carts make far more efficient use of curb frontage when backed in perpendicular to the curb, allowing the city to match parking design to the actual size and footprint of the vehicle.

  • Stop opportunistic ticketing

    The city should not keep using an outdated full-size vehicle rule to treat an efficient and widely used golf cart parking method as a citation opportunity and revenue source.

  • Makes ownership more practical

    People are more likely to buy and use golf carts when the city gives them practical ways to park, travel, and reach key destinations. Smart policy changes do not just help existing owners. They encourage more residents to make the switch.

What should change

  • Adopt a local ordinance authorizing marked back-in perpendicular or angled golf cart parking zones under California Vehicle Code § 22503, which allows local authorities to “permit angle parking on any roadway”
  • Permit it where traffic is not impeded, a usable pedestrian path remains, no more than half of the sidewalk is occupied, and curb ramps and key accessible access points remain clear.

Replace an absurd one-size-fits-all parking rule with a simple local ordinance that allows golf carts to park the way they actually fit.

Access

Bring charging access to renters and multifamily housing

Make golf cart ownership practical for residents who have a place to park but no reliable place to charge by supporting simple, low-cost charging options in apartments, condos, and other multifamily properties.

Why this matters

  • Prevents golf cart ownership from becoming exclusive

    Without charging access for renters, ownership will be limited mostly to people with private garages and single-family homes.

  • Removes a real adoption barrier

    Many residents could own and use a golf cart for local trips if they simply had a safe, dependable place to charge it.

  • Uses lower-cost infrastructure

    Basic golf cart charging can often be far simpler and cheaper than full EV charging infrastructure, making it a practical way to expand access.

  • Supports neighborhood transportation

    Charging where people actually live makes golf carts more useful for daily errands, beach access, and short community trips.

What should change

  • Encourage apartment, condo, and multifamily properties to add resident golf cart charging
  • Use simple incentives such as streamlined approvals, clear standards, and modest pilot support
  • Prioritize properties with existing parking and straightforward electrical access
  • Treat charging access as a practical way to include renters, not just homeowners

Why this makes sense

Use space more efficiently

Space-saving parking

One curb space can fit multiple golf carts instead of a single full-size vehicle. In beach areas where parking is constantly constrained, that means more people can access the same destination using less space.

More turnover, less parking camping

Golf cart users are more flexible because they can fit into smaller spaces and make shorter stop-and-go trips. That helps valuable curb space turn over more often instead of being locked up all day by a single car.

A better fit for local trips

Better for short local trips

Beach communities are filled with short trips that do not need a full-size car. Golf carts are a better match for quick runs to the beach, nearby shops, restaurants, parks, and friends’ houses.

A better fit for beach communities

Dense beach neighborhoods were never designed for every short local trip to happen in a full-size car. Golf carts fit the scale, pace, and character of places like PB, OB, and nearby recreation areas much better.

Supports beach access without more cars

If the city wants better access to beaches, bays, and recreation areas, the answer cannot always be more full-size vehicles fighting over the same curb space. Golf carts provide another way to get people there.

Improves the overall transportation mix

Cleaner local transportation

Electric golf carts produce no tailpipe emissions during use and are a cleaner option for short neighborhood travel. This is especially valuable in beach communities where residents and visitors spend so much time outdoors.

Encourages a better transportation mix

The goal is not to eliminate cars. It is to create incentives for more people to choose golf carts when they make sense, which improves the overall mix of vehicles in beach communities.

Current campaign status

CartSD is building support, documenting real parking and access problems, and pressing city officials for changes that make golf cart access and parking more practical in San Diego’s beach communities.

  • Supporters are being added and counted.
  • Priority parking and access problems are being documented.
  • Outreach to public officials and next steps are being tracked publicly.

Last updated: March 10, 2026

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Latest activity

  • March 10, 2026

    Site launched

    Campaign site launched

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FAQ

Short answers to the most common questions about why CartSD is focused on golf carts, how this helps beach access and parking, and what changes the campaign is actually asking for.

Why is CartSD focused on golf carts?

Because San Diego’s beach communities are full of short local trips, tight parking, and destinations where golf carts make practical sense. CartSD is focused on the policy and infrastructure changes that would make that reality work better.

Is this only for golf cart owners?

No. The campaign is centered on golf cart-friendly change, but the benefits also matter for residents, businesses, visitors, and officials who care about parking, beach access, and more practical local travel.

How would this help parking and beach access?

Dedicated golf cart parking, better access routes, and more practical rules can make better use of limited space near the beach while improving short local trips to shops, parks, and recreation areas.

Is this trying to remove cars from beach communities?

No. CartSD is not trying to eliminate cars. The campaign is asking for practical changes that make beach communities work better for golf carts and short local trips instead of forcing everything into the same car-first pattern.

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