A city where golf carts are a teen status symbol

With over 9,000 registered golf carts and nearly 100 miles of tar paths, Peachtree City, Ga., can now claim the title of the "golf-cart capital of the world." Which city did it recently overtake? No surprise, really: Sun City, Ariz.

But there's a difference between the preferred transport of Arizona's retired Sansabelt crowd and the commuter culture of this expanding suburb 30 miles outside Atlanta. "In Sun City they've got all the old golfers, but this is where the youth dominate the golf-cart world," says sophomore Josh Riedel, exiting a four-wheeler.

Indeed, they do. On most days, hundreds of golf carts hum along the network of paths that has become known as "children's highway." The parking area behind McIntosh High School is always full of, not Jeep Wranglers and Volkswagen bugs, but E-Z-Goes, some with dice dangling from the rear-view mirror.

Peachtree is actually on the cusp of a quietly growing trend on the outskirts of America's cities – the rise of electric carts as a major mode of transportation.

To enthusiasts here, the town is weaning families from the internal combustion engine and pioneering a quiet, nonpolluting way to travel. But the crush of carts is also creating new traffic jams and raising safety issues. Just how old is "old enough" to be allowed behind the wheel of an electric cart?

"This is a very unique community, and the government here has traditionally been willing to experiment and take a progressive approach," says Maj. R.M. Dupree of the Peachtree City police force.

The extent to which golf carts have taken root in this city of 34,000 is most evident on the Fourth of July, when some 8,000 patriotically emblazoned golf carts snake past a local lake on their way to the fireworks.

For a suburban area such as Peachtree, the allure of golf carts is understandable. Simply, people like the image of children safely roaming about, legs dangling out of daddy's golf cart. The vehicles are also pollution-free, another value that resonates with suburban residents.

Certainly, the appearance of carts at schools and grocery-store parking lots here has been boosted by the growing popularity of Daimler Chrysler's new GEM car, an electric-powered cart that can travel at "street speeds" of up to 35 miles-per-hour.

Now, nearby communities like Tyrone and Fayetteville are creating their own path systems as the crush of Atlanta's urban growth approaches. What's more, city officials receive dozens of inquiries a year from communities across the country interested in developing their own golf-cart policies.

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