Traffic engineers throughout the San Diego County have noticed that most trips people take are within a couple of miles of where they live, which helps inform the way future roads and streets will be designed. This finding, in an addition to a call to reduce greenhouse gases, prompted the city of Carlsbad to take notice and push for the use of electric carts in transportation, per San Diego Reader.

Traffic Engineer Doug Bilse thinks the shared use of NEVs — “neighborhood electric vehicles” — would ease the need for individual cars, as it would offer door-to-door service within a community. Wider bike paths are being considered, since current bike paths are five feet and low-speed vehicles require seven feet.

So far, cities have different regulations for golf carts: Coronado treats them like any other vehicle, provided they’re on speed-appropriate streets (25-35 miles per hour). Rancho Bernardo presently has them restricted to golf courses. According to the report, carts are already popular among La Jolla, Pacific Beach and Coronado residents.