Old Lyme — Sound View Beach officials are looking to the state to give the go-ahead for golf carts to cross Route 156.

Sound View Commission Chairman Frank Pappalardo at this week's meeting said he has been speaking with state Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, about how to get the necessary permissions so residents who live on the opposite side of the state road can drive into the beach area in their registered golf carts.

The officials emphasized they are not asking for golf carts to drive along Route 156, just across it.

The goal is to get official authorization from the state for golf cart crossing, instead of going with the kind of unofficial policy used in some towns that involves looking the other way when it comes to enforcement of the statute.

Pappalardo said discussions with Resident State Trooper Matt Weber, First Selectman Tim Griswold and the town attorney have resulted in the decision that "unless we have a specific exception or it's allowed in the regulations, we're not going to give tacit approval for crossing a state road."

State law permits towns to allow residents to drive golf carts during daylight hours on specified town roads with speed limits of 25 mph or under. To drive a golf cart, people have to be licensed state drivers, register the vehicle and follow other rules. After state law banned their usage, state Rep. Marilyn Giuliano, R-Old Saybrook, got special legislation passed in 2009 so people could continue to drive golf carts, according to newspaper reports at the time.

The decision to institute the exception is up to a municipality's local traffic authority. In Old Lyme, that's the Board of Selectmen.

Carney on Wednesday said the exception doesn't apply to Route 156 because the speed limit is higher than 25 mph.

The speed limit in the Sound View section of the road is 30 mph. Speed limits on state roads are set by the Office of the State Traffic Administration in conjunction with the town's traffic authority.

One solution is proposing a bill to get the law changed, according to Carney. "I am the ranking member of the Transportation Committee, so if that's what needs to be done, I would do that," he said.

He said his bill could involve expanding the exceptions to include a provision specifically for crossing the street in beach areas where the speed limit may be higher than 25 mph.

The town last year instituted a golf cart registration program that allows residents to operate their vehicle within the Sound View borders. Those whose carts are registered in other beach communities in Old Lyme also would have to register with the town in order to operate their golf carts in Sound View. The 2021 fee was $50 per cart.

The program included the conversion of two parking spots at the bottom of Hartford Avenue into several spaces reserved for golf carts.

Pappalardo said several golf carts have been ticketed — including one on Route 156 — and one or two have been towed for operating in the Sound View area without the proper registration.

e.regan@theday.com