Using new ‘golf cart’ lane clarified

The new lane striped as part of the Canyon Lake POA repavement project is an obvious addition to those driving along Canyon Lake Drive North. How to use it is a little less understood.

Photos in The Friday Flyer last week identified the new lane with diagonal striping as a golf cart lane. Golf carts can use the lane, but are to use it only when the far-right lane is occupied by a parked vehicle. Its main purpose is to separate slower-moving golf carts and pedestrians from the vehicles in the main road.

“The Canyon Lake POA incorporated this striping plan into our pavement project in an effort to make golf cart traffic on this section of Canyon Lake Drive North much safer,” Eric Kazakoff, the Canyon Lake POA general manager, said.

According to Steve Libring, a licensed traffic engineer who lives in Canyon Lake, the new striping has a diagonal cross hatched area that is technically called a “buffer zone.”

A buffer zone, he said, is not intended for continuous driving, riding, running or walking by residents or guests. The buffer zone is to be used to create a “buffer” or separation between the vehicles driving on the main road and the users of the outside utility lanes adjacent to the curb. This seven-foot-wide cross hatched area helps provide a marked separation between higher speed cars and low-speed carts, bikes, runners, walkers, dogs, strollers, etc.

The outside eight feet is the utility lane that is designed for everyone to use, including parked vehicles, Steve said. When golf carts, bikes, runners or walkers come up to a parked vehicle, it is then they can use the buffer zone to pass that vehicle or vehicles. As soon as possible after passing the parked vehicle, the one passing needs to return to the outside eight-foot utility lane.

“This striping helps provide positive guidance for regular vehicles driving on the road to stay left of the buffer zone,” Steve said. “This provides maximum safety for residents if they stay right of the buffer zone.

“Going in the buffer zone as little as possible minimizes the amount of time that a passing vehicle could be approaching at the same time,” he said. “Driving, walking, jogging or running continuously in the buffer zone places you closer to the higher-speed vehicles and defeats the purpose of this safety measure that was added.”