UPS to deploy golf cart delivery in Golden

Residents of Golden soon will see United Parcel Service drivers delivering packages via golf cart instead of the big brown trucks the company is known for, providing some neighborhoods in the city needed relief from the crush of delivery vehicles that are ubiquitous in an age of heavy online shopping.

The City Council on Thursday night approved a resolution that will allow the UPS golf carts — with trailers attached — to roll through certain neighborhoods through the end of the year as part of a pilot project, possibly the first of its kind in Colorado.

UPS this week told The Denver Post it hoped to get service going as soon as Friday, but Golden police Capt. Joe Harvey told the council Thursday that the company had not yet informed the city which neighborhoods it wants to service. The company also hasn’t disclosed how many golf carts it plans to use in Golden.

But Harvey said the police department has no worries about safety being a concern. For neighborhood residents, he cited the safety of golf carts over trucks in terms of size and maneuverability.

In addition, UPS would be limited to using gaspowered golf carts on streets where the posted speed limit is no more than 25 mph. Drivers would not be allowed to exceed 20 mph, according to UPS’ agreement with the city. UPS golf carts also will have to have front and rear lights, be “conspicuously marked as UPS vehicles” and have a red reflective hazard symbol affixed to the rear of the trailer.

“Imagine the pollution we could avoid without all those trucks stopping and starting on our streets,” Harvey told the council.

Delivery by golf cart comes as the holiday giftgiving season approaches a crescendo 2K weeks before Christmas. Retail analysts have estimated that e-commerce sales nationwide will swell by 18 percent to 21 percent this holiday season over last year’s.

Colorado wouldn’t be the first place UPS has chosen for golf cart use. The company deploys the vehicles in states mostly where it’s warm year-round and often to assist during the busy holiday gift-giving season. UPS also uses other unconventional vehicles around the world, including bicycles, snowmobiles, horsedrawn carriages, electricassist bicycles and motorcycles.

The company even uses a gondola to make deliveries in Italy.