MARIETTA, Pa. (WHTM) – Golf carts are widely thought of to be used by the beach or in retirement communities. Yet, Marietta Borough has created a law to make them street legal.

“We started exploring. Marietta is a very small, two square mile town with not one traffic light, not one speed limit over 25 miles an hour. Could it be perfect for this size town, for our area? And that’s what we felt was the best way to do it,” Borough Council President Freddy States said.

At first, States and other members of the borough thought golf carts were already legal.

“We thought, oh, Pennsylvania now allows it,” States said. That wasn’t entirely true.

“That’s only if you are one mile from a resort or a golf course,” he said.

That led the Council to create an ordinance.

“Golf carts shall be permitted on all alleys and North/South streets within the Borough. No golf carts will be permitted on Market Street except when crossing along North/South streets,” it reads.

Hazel, Apple, and Prospect Streets are fine to take the cart on. The River Trail is a no-cart zone.

States believes Marietta’s unique layout makes it perfect for the carts. He isn’t sure if other areas would be able to follow suit.

“I don’t know that any other place has the ability to do it,” he said. “All of our speed limits being under 25 [mph] and having no traffic lights, you’re not going to find many towns that have that same setup.”

He says the ordinance hasn’t had much pushback. All of the streets are owned and maintained by the Borough.

“We don’t have one state road that runs through Marietta,” States said.

It makes it less of a headache by not having to go through PennDOT or Pennsylvania State Police.

“Our ordinance doesn’t go against the state law,” States said.

He thinks the carts are good for parking, which is something the Borough lacks.