NEWPORT — City officials have approved a dedicated golf cart lane along Bellevue Avenue, citing what planners described as “changing seasonal transportation expectations” among Newport’s growing class of luxury summer residents.
The project will remove one lane of traditional vehicle traffic from the corridor and convert it into a seasonal “micro-mobility pathway” reserved exclusively for golf carts, low-speed leisure vehicles, and “select resort-adjacent transportation platforms.”
To accommodate the new golf cart corridor, all traditional vehicle traffic on Bellevue Avenue will now travel southbound only, with northbound drivers directed to return via Spring Street.
A consulting group hired by the city concluded that Newport has fallen behind “peer luxury markets” such as Palm Beach, Florida in golf cart accessibility.
“When we’re in Palm Beach, the cart takes us everywhere,” said seasonal resident Patricia Elaine Rickenbacher-Soto. “Club, lunch, cocktails, the med spa. Honestly we assumed Newport already had this.”
Under the new rules, golf carts will maintain right-of-way privileges at most intersections along Bellevue. Traditional vehicles will be prohibited from honking at carts unless they are “honks of admiration.”
Officials also announced that while the car speed limit remains 25 mph, the limit for carts will be 35 mph in order to “desynchronize traffic flow”.
City leaders also unveiled a new alcohol policy strictly for golf carts, allowing operators to consume open beverages while driving provided drinks are deemed “brunch-adjacent,” including mimosas, Bloody Marys, and Aperol Spritzes.
To assuage safety concerns Newport Hospital confirmed it is establishing a small unit dedicated to golf cart-related injuries, including a specialized “Cart-Bulance” expected to remain on standby 24 hours a day during the summer season.
The city also announced hourly members-only shuttle service between the Spouting Rick Association and Bellevue Gardens beginning Memorial Day weekend.
Historic preservation advocates praised the initiative, arguing that casually ignoring regulations has long been part of Newport’s cultural identity.
“Newport has always had a proud tradition of wealthy people doing whatever they want,” said one preservation official. “This simply modernizes that heritage.”