The Manhattan Beach City Council will consider whether to approve a six-month pilot program of free electric golf carts available for the public at the June 7 council meeting.
The idea was put forth to the city by the the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association.
“I see it as a pressure release on parking,” said the association’s executive director Kelly Stroman.
The association suggested bringing in the Downtowner, a door-to-door service which operates on the Newport Beach peninsula and in two Florida cities, and is supported by sponsors advertising on the carts. Riders order carts through an app.
Both the Downtowner and another service, the Free Ride, which operates in Venice and Santa Monica, will submit proposals to the city.
If the idea is approved, the carts wouldn’t be restricted to the downtown, but rather would travel throughout the city, and would be available for anyone to use.
An unused area of the Metlox Plaza parking garage is being considered as a place to park and charge the carts that wouldn’t take away from the city’s parking supply. ER
