COASTAL OBSERVER

Golf carts will return to the multi-use path along Willbrook Boulevard under an agreement that will return ownership of the route to area property owners.

“The majority of folks really wanted carts back on the path and not on the road,” said Mark Curtiss, president of the Willbrook Plantation Road Maintenance District.

Last August, Georgetown County put up signs banning motorized vehicles from the path, which is part of the Bike the Neck route from Murrells Inlet to Pawleys Island. The county took ownership of the road and path in 2005 from the Litchfield Co., which developed the property in the 1990s. The path allowed residents in the neighborhoods easy access to the beach at Litchfield by the Sea.

Although motorized vehicles were banned by county ordinance from other sections of the Bike the Neck route, the Willbrook path was considered an exception. That changed after a cyclist was injured in a collision with a golf cart and filed suit in 2021.

The case was settled before going to trial. Signs went up along the Willbrook path 10 months later saying motorized vehicles were prohibited.

The county offered to let the road district take back the path last fall. The district board declined.

The district is made up of residential and commercial property owners within the Willbrook “planned development.” The commercial owners account for 70 percent of its funding and they were concerned about the liability, Curtiss said.

“We would have taken full liability without any support from the county,” he said.

Their insurance carrier told the district “don’t do this,” he said.

But shifting golf carts from the 8-foot-wide path to the heavily-traveled Willbrook Boulevard also raised concerns. Sheriff Carter Weaver, whose deputies were responsible for enforcing the ban, said at the time that putting the carts on the road was a safety hazard.

The road district surveyed property owners. Most of the respondents favored allowing carts back on the path, Curtiss said.

It was the road district’s attorney, Dan Stacy, who proposed a solution to the liability issue, he said.

The district will create the Willbrook Boulevard Path Association to take ownership of a 20-foot wide strip centered on the path. The property will be its only asset.

“It would, in essence, help wall off the commercial entities and the HOAs from any liability,” Curtiss said.

County Council this week gave first reading by title to an ordinance declaring the bike path “surplus property.” 

Council Member Stella Mercado, who tried to broker the deal last year, said she was pleased that everyone was able to come together to find a solution.

“We were able to come up with a solution for the county, the residents and our visitors to fully enjoy the multi-use path along Willbrook,” she said.

The district is also changing its name to the Willbrook Corridor Beautification Association to reflect its role in maintaining the right-of-way.

The association will erect signs along the path telling golf carts to yield to pedestrians and cyclists.

“There are some people who don’t want carts on the path,” Curtis said. “We very much respect those people.”