Parking Services and Disability Services now offer wheelchair-accessible golf cart rides around campus for those in need. Stemming from concerns around accessibility due to construction, the golf cart is another step in making the campus more accessible.  

Disability Services Director and ADA/504 Coordinator Mary Little, shared that the golf cart currently runs Monday through Friday on an eligibility basis. Those who wish to use the golf cart need to be approved by Disability Services for a referral to Parking Services. Parking Services will be the main line of communication for the golf cart, they request 24-hour notice for use of the cart. Transport begins around 8 a.m. and last goes out at 3:15 p.m.  

Worries for transportation came from the recent construction of the commons and the new academic building. “I was getting a lot of calls from and concerns from faculty, staff and students,” said Little, “Which I brought to the Disability Issues as a campus-wide concern for us to discuss.” 

Little shared that the golf cart process began by looking at other universities on campus vehicles. When the golf cart was settled on, the purchase was made through Student Life and Enrollment. As for now, there is only one golf cart available on campus. The hope is to expand as they learn more about its needs in this first year. “It gives us an opportunity to reflect on patterns of use and be responsive to that,” said Little.

Photo of Bethanie Dye and driver Dana in the wheelchair-accessible golf cart. (Haley Carter/East Tennessean)

As ETSU moves to be a more pedestrian friendly campus, Little recognizes the difficulties that may arise for people with mobility issues. “In providing the golf cart, we bridge that to create accessibility and perhaps solve some other issues that regard getting around campus,” said Little. 

Disability Services and Disability Services encourage any person who may need to utilize the golf cart to begin the approval process.  

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